From staff reports
An Oil City High School teacher accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a female student waived his preliminary hearing in the case on Monday.
Shaun McLoughlin, 39, of Franklin, will now face further proceedings in the Court of Common of Pleas on one felony count of corruption of minors-defendant age 18 or above.
McLoughlin, an English teacher, has been placed on paid administrative leave by Oil City Area School District. He was arrested and arraigned Friday following what Oil City police called a long-term investigation.
Police said in a criminal complaint that McLoughlin had allegedly been having a physical relationship with the student dating back to 2014. The relationship took place on school grounds on some occasions until spring 2015, according to police.
Police started the investigation in August 2016, via a report from Venango County Children and Youth Services.
The criminal complaint said McLoughlin, between November 2014 and April 2017, engaged in sexually-based offenses and corrupted or tended to corrupt the morals of a then 16-year-old female, or encouraged her in the commission of such acts.
McLoughlin engaged in a mental, emotional and physically intimate relationship with the girl, which did turn sexual in nature after she turned 17, the complaint said.
The acts occurred on Oil City High School property, both during the school day and after, while McLoughlin was engaged in his duties as an instructor, the complaint said.
McLoughlin also met with the girl in Huntingdon, Centre and Allegheny counties and continued their physical relationship while she was both a minor and after her departure from the high school in spring 2015, the complaint said.
Oil City police collected evidence through interviews with the girl; a video and audio recorded statement of admission collected from McLoughlin in the presence of his attorney; a voluntary digital and paper record submission by the girl; and search warrants served for digital records held by email/application servers, the complaint said.
McLoughlin’s bail was set at $100,000 unsecured, with the additional condition of electronic GPS monitoring by Venango County Court Supervision Services.
