Bedford Co., PA (WJAC) — State police in Bedford County have charged a Buffalo Mills man with multiple sex crimes after he was accused of having a "sexual relationship" with a female student.
Troopers say Jarrod Clapper, 24, faces felony counts of sexual contact with a student in/near a school, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor, according to online court documents.
Authorities say in January of this year, troopers were contacted by a school resource officer for the Bedford Area School District to report a possible sexual relationship between a female student and a member of the school's IT department.
Upon further investigation, police say they spoke with the student, who told troopers that she and Clapper, who served as an IT employee for the district, had been messaging one another via Snapchat and Instagram.
Troopers say the student told police that in late December, Clapper had invited her to go and see his plane at the Bedford County Airport.
According to the arrest affidavit, the student told troopers that she and Clapper kissed and had sex while at the airport.
Authorities say a search of Clapper's phone and social media accounts revealed numerous sexual and inappropriate messages between he and the student.
6 News reached out to the Bedford County School District for comment and received the following statement:
Due to the nature of this situation given the criminal charges, the Bedford Area School District can only provide limited information regarding the situation. The district was made aware of a potential allegation of sexual misconduct by an employee towards a student on January 20, 2022. Within hours, the district verified a sufficient amount of information to take administrative actions stopping the employee from working within the district and contacted the State Police to start a criminal investigation. The employee then resigned from the district. The district continues to cooperate with the State Police.Clapper was arraigned on the aforementioned charges Thursday afternoon and his since been released on unsecured $85,000 bail, court dockets show.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 18.
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