The court case concerning the alleged sexual assault of two ex-students by a former Chester County charter school teacher commenced on Monday. Prosecutors portrayed the accused as an abuser who misused his professional role to manipulate his victims.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Acito claimed that Seth Reich, aged 42, manipulated a 17-year-old drama student at the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School Center for Performing and Fine Arts into a sexual relationship in her final school year. Acito also alleged that, following the student’s graduation in summer 2019, Reich planned a hotel stay with her and another ex-student, where he supplied them with tequila and sexually assaulted the second victim.
“Teachers are entrusted with the wellbeing of their students. This defendant did the exact opposite of safeguarding them,” said Acito.
Reich has been charged with institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors, and related crimes linked to his relationship with the ex-student. He also faces charges of sexual assault and providing alcohol to minors regarding the alleged hotel incident with the two teenagers.
However, Reich’s lawyer, James Funt, rejected the prosecution’s account. Referring to numerous texts and WhatsApp messages shared between the victims and their ex-teacher, Funt argued that the sexual interactions were consensual.
“Seth’s actions are not illegal just because [one of the victims] regrets her decisions,” Funt stated.
The case against Reich began in 2021 when the first victim disclosed her relationship with him. She detailed how Reich started texting her at age 17, initially about class matters, but the messages gradually became more suggestive. According to Acito, Reich convinced her they were equals and that he could help advance her career in the entertainment industry.
Acito stated, “Reich took advantage of [the victim’s] infatuation and escalated it. He blurred boundaries until they vanished.”
The ex-student informed investigators about a sexual encounter initiated by Reich in his classroom in May 2019, and hundreds of subsequent occasions over the next year and a half, kept secret from Reich’s wife.
Funt, however, disputed the timeline provided by the woman. He cited text messages showing discussions between Reich and the teen about suppressing their desires until she turned 18. Furthermore, the messages graphically described their first sexual encounter in July 2019, weeks after her graduation.
Funt claimed this contradicts the prosecution’s case: if she was no longer a student when they started having sex, the charges would be inapplicable.
Funt argued that the “Commonwealth is relying on flawed recollections. [The victim] deceived investigators, and attempted to incriminate Seth.”
In August 2019, when the relationship was ongoing, the victim assisted Reich with a local production of The Tempest. A close friend of hers, who had graduated a year earlier, was also part of the production.
Post-production, Reich and the two ex-students visited a local hotel, where he provided them with tequila. Prosecutors claim Reich forced himself on the second victim, undressing and hitting her despite her protests.
The next morning, Reich, taking advantage of their alcohol-induced memory gaps, persuaded the girls that they initiated the sexual activity, stated Acito.
Acito added, “The defendant manipulated these girls, exploiting his power to get what he wanted.”
However, Funt offered a different narrative of the night using recovered WhatsApp group chat messages. He argued that the second victim proposed the hotel booking, and that the girls had joked about buying condoms and having sex, later referring to it as the “best day ever.”
Funt also mentioned that the production manager maintained a friendly relationship with Reich in the months following the incident, even inviting him to visit her at college in Chicago.
Funt concluded, “They omitted critical event details when speaking to the police, realizing how incriminating these messages could be. It seems like an attempt to rewrite history.”
The trial, presided over by Chester County Judge Analisa Sondergaard, is anticipated to continue throughout the week.
