An ex-teacher was arrested last Wednesday in a white collar crime case. She turned herself in on July 24, and her arrest was carried out by agents of the state Attorney General. Her arraignment was set up at the office of District Judge Wally Scott.
The woman, 29, was previously employed by the Reading School District as an elementary school teacher. The charges against her are directly related to that employment, stating that she willfully forged her own state teaching certificate. According to the allegations, this was done because the certificate had expired and she wanted to retain her teaching credentials.
Because of this, she has been formally charged with forgery in addition to tampering with public records and tampering with identification records. Faced with these serious charges, the woman still decided to waive a preliminary hearing. She is currently free while waiting the court’s announcement of the next step.
The case against her notes that she was hired as a first grade teacher at Amanda Stout Elementary School in August 2006. At the time, she was a recent graduate from Millersville University, where she had earned an Elementary Education degree. She was able to provide officials of the district that hired her with a valid teaching certificate from the state Department of Education.
Five years later, in December 2011, she was notified by the human resources department of her school district that her Level 1 teaching certificate would expire in June 2012. They told her to apply for a Level II teaching certificate.
However, she had not completed the 24 post-bac credits required for a Level II certificate, and was told that she could not get one, consequently. Teachers are required to get 24 post-bac credits within six years after getting their Level I certificate.
Due to this failure, her Level I teaching certificate lapsed. When it did, the woman submitted a forged copy of a Level II certificate to the school district. This occurred on February 15, 2012. The district noted clear inconsistencies on the forged document, and contacted the state Attorney General’s office. That office sent Agent Jeffrey Wright to interview the woman, who admitted to having made the fake document.
The woman is no longer employed by the school at which she worked. District officials declined the opportunity to comment.
If you experience white collar crime legal troubles, it will be critical to find an attorney who is experienced with white collar crime cases. They will offer you the sound legal advice and qualified representation that you need.
Source: Reading Eagle, “Ex-city teacher charged in forgery” Steve Henshaw, Jul. 27, 2013
