Ex-Dover music teacher arrested on sexual assault charges

Taniel Orr

A former Dover Intermediate School music teacher who was arrested on 661 counts of child pornography earlier this year, is now facing 33 additional criminal charges that include corruption of minors and invasion of privacy.

Matthew Puterbaugh, 46, of Dover, was charged by Northern York County Regional Police Friday with seven counts each of electronic surveillance and invasion of privacy, ten counts of corruption of minors, and five counts of harassment

Police initially identified 30 people who said Puterbaugh touched them in some way or were found in videos on his cell phone. Of those 30, 15 of them could not be prosecuted because the statute of limitations has expired.

Charges are as followed;

– 7 wiretapping charges related to voices of victims captured without their consent

– 7 invasion of privacy for videos take up the skirts or shorts of female students

– 10 corruption of minors for those invasion of privacy instances as well as other videos taken of students’ clothed breast or pubic regions

.- 5 harassment for instances where he rubbed the legs and/or inner thighs of students without their consent.

Police said all of these cases happened over the past four years at Dover Intermediate School, the Dover High School band camp and practices and at Dover High School graduation ceremonies. Bail on this case was set at $250,000.

A second court document indicates Puterbaugh was additionally charged Friday with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, corruption of minors and indecent assault.

On April 12,2013, Police received a call from an anonymous female student who said she was having a sexual relationship with Puterbaugh. The female student who is now an adult and living outside of the area, came for an interview with police in March.

According to police, the female victim began music lessons with Puterbaugh when she was in  fourth grade. The lessons continued for two years and the victim said Puterbaugh would sit closer and closer to her making her feel uncomfortable.

During the summer between the victim’s sixth and seventh grade, Puterbaugh began touching her in her pubic region through her pants, police said.

Later that summer, he showed her his genitals, and by the end of the summer, the two had sex in a storage area at the Intermediate School during a music lesson, police said.

The victim told police the assaults continued for three years and that he had sex with her at least 80 times at the school, his house or her house.

Bail for this case was set at $250,000.