Pa. school principal charged in student sex case
Posted: September 22, 2013 - 4:26am

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- An assistant principal at a central Pennsylvania public high school was charged with having a sexual relationship with an underage student. WHTM-TV in Harrisburg reported that Shawn Sharkey, 45, turned himself in Saturday. Sharkey had worked at Susquehanna Township High School since Jan. 22 and previously worked for the Philadelphia School District as a dean of ninth-grade students. Court filings show that Sharkey was charged with sexual contact with a girl, then 16, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. Court records did not list a lawyer for Sharkey and no one answered the telephone Saturday at his Abington home. Authorities said Sharkey had at least 10 different sexual encounters between February and March with the student. He would pick her up at home and take her to rented motel rooms, police said. Sharkey told police that he had had no inappropriate contact with her, court records show. The girl is now 17, a Susquehanna Township School District spokeswoman said. The district said Friday that it planned to fire Sharkey.