Cresson teacher charged, resigns after kiss allegations

A Penn Cambria School District music teacher has resigned from his job after being charged with corruption of a minor.

Carl Paul Newfield, of Elm Circle, Cresson, was charged by borough police following an incident March 12, when he allegedly was seen kissing a 16-year-old female student on district property .

Newfield, 31, was employed by the district for six years, Superintendent Mary Beth Whited said Wednesday.

She said she could not comment further because it is a personnel matter.

The charges were filed at the office of Cresson District Judge Charity Nileski, who said she is recusing herself to avoid any suggestion of a conflict of interest. Her husband, Henry Nileski, is a member of the Penn Cambria school board.

The case has been reassigned to Portage District Judge Galen Decort, Cambria County court administrator William Valko said Wednesday.

Decort’s office said a preliminary hearing date for Newfield has not been scheduled.

The criminal complaint filed by police at Nileski’s office outlines an incident earlier this month when a 14-year-old boy said he saw Newfield engaged in inappropriate contact with the female student.

The boy told authorities that he witnessed Newfield sitting on a couch in a dressing room with the girl’s legs draped over his following a rehearsal for a musical. It appeared to the boy that Newfield and the girl were going to kiss, police said.

When questioned later by Whited, the girl admitted to the encounter but said it was her fault and that she had kissed Newfield.

The girl told authorities that Newfield is her best friend and she did not want him to lose his job.

The boy said Newfield often gives the girl rides to and from practice. He was unaware of Newfield giving rides to other students.

The incident occurred on a Saturday morning after a play practice attended by a number of students in the high school auditorium on Linden Avenue, Cresson. The session was to end at 12:30 p.m., but Newfield allowed the students to leave at 11:30 a.m.

Newfield faces one count of corruption of minors.