Wayne Highlands teacher suspended over rape allegations

BY STACI WILSON

A Susquehanna County man accused of sexually abusing a boy has been suspended from his job as a teacher at a Wayne Highlands elementary school, officials said.

Kyle Justin Cobb, 27, of Union Dale, was charged over the weekend after an 18-year-old man provided a written statement to police accusing Mr. Cobb of forcing him to have anal intercourse and oral sex on two separate occasions while he was visiting Mr. Cobb’s family at their farm in Herrick Twp.

The man, who lives out of the area, was between 11 and 13 at the time of the alleged incidents, police said. The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.

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Mr. Cobb was hired as a teacher at Lakeside Elementary, part of the Wayne Highlands School District in Honesdale, in July 2010.

On Monday, Wayne Highlands Superintendent Gregory Frigoletto said the district was notified about the allegations against Mr. Cobb on Sunday. He was suspended without pay indefinitely.

“The district takes this matter very seriously and will fully cooperate with all investigating agencies throughout this ongoing investigation,” Mr. Frigoletto said.

Mr. Cobb was interviewed by state police on Saturday at the Gibson station. According to the affidavit, Mr. Cobb at first denied the allegations but later admitted to having oral sex with the victim in the hayloft of the barn. He denied having intercourse with the boy.

Mr. Cobb told police he was 19 or 20 years old at the time and attending college.

He also told police that on one other occasion he and the boy were riding four-wheelers on the property and another assault occurred.

According to the affidavit, Mr. Cobb told police he realized it was wrong and avoided the boy because he was studying to become a teacher. He also was afraid the child might burn the property.

Mr. Cobb was charged with felony counts of rape – forcible compulsion; rape of a child; involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person less than 13 years of age; involuntary deviate sexual intercourse – forcible compulsion; and two counts of aggravated indecent assault.

He was also charged with two misdemeanor indecent assault counts.

Source : thetimes