WEST CHESTER — A Chester County high school teacher has been charged with having a sexual relationship with a student at the school, whom she provided  marijuana she procured from a medical marijuana dispensary, according to authorities.

The charges against teacher Michelle Mercogliano were announced Wednesday by District Attorney Chris deBarrena-Sarobe and Tredyffrin Police Chief Michael Beaty. In a news release, the pair said Mercogliano had not yet been arrested, but that she was “cooperative and arranging an appropriate time to turn herself in via her attorney.”

Mercogliano and the unnamed 16-year-old student were said to have had sex at least 12 times beginningt in February and that Mercogliano had also performed oral sex on the youth on multiple occasions. Their encounters took place at the youth’s home in Tredyffrin and at Mercogliano’s parents’ home in the township.

“Parents and students should be able to trust their teachers,” deBarrena-Sarobe said in the release. “The defendant broke the law and destroyed that trust. It will not be tolerated.”

Chester County District Attorney Chris de Barrena-Sarobe

Said Beaty: “The calculated actions by this defendant are shocking and disturbing. We are here to support the victim and his family as we collectively work to rebuild the trust damaged by her criminal endeavors.”

Mercogliano, 35, of East Pikeland is charged with institutional sexual assault, a third degree felony; corruption of minors, criminal use of a communications facility, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of children, and delivery of a controlled substance.

According to an arrest warrant by Tredyffrin Detective Michael Carsello, the relationship between the two came to light on Monday after a source told police that the 16-year-old was having an inappropriate relationship with a special education teacher at Conestoga High School, where he was a student.

Carsello said he spoke with the youth’s father that day, who showed him packaging for medical marijuana that he found in his son’s bedroom closet. The father said that he had been told by the boy’s mother about the relationship with a 35-year-old woman, and that the mother had learned about the relationship from her daughter, the youth’s sister. The girl said she learned about the matter directly from her brother, who told her while they were out of town on a trip.

Carsello, a 20-year veteran of the department, interviewed the youth later that day. The youth told him he and Mercogliano had sexual intercourse approximately 12 times, the first occurring in February at his home. The other contacts came at a home where she had a bedroom, even though she did not reside there.

During the interview, the detective said, he could see Mercogliano messaging the youth on his phone and sending him alerts.

The youth said the pair would communicate via Snap Chat and text message. After school, the youth would walk from Conestoga to the Mainline Berwyn apartments, where Mercogliano would pick him up in her white Infiniti sedan in a rear parking lot and drive him to his home, to the other house, and to the Sunnyside Marijuana Dispensary in Phoenixville. She would purchase marijuana there and give it to him, he told the detective.

She had been giving him marijuana since December, about 15 times in total, he said. After using the drug together, they would have sex, according to the affidavit.

The youth said that his relationship with Mercogliano began early in the school year. He had been late for school, and he said Mercogliano had asked one of his friends for his Snap Chat handle, and that she messaged him to offer him a ride.

The youth turned over his cell phone so that it could be downloaded by Chester County detectives forensic investigators, but Carsello said that an initial review of its contents revealed communications between him and Mercogliano going to the marijuana dispensary. Did he need anything, she asked.

On Tuesday morning, Carsello went to Conestoga and confronted Mercogliano. He seized the cell phone she was holding pending a search warrant to avoid destruction of any potential evidence, since she was now aware that she was under investigation by law enforcement.

The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District says Mercogliano has been placed on leave, after having begun teaching at the high school last year.  She was also a teacher at Hillside Elementary School from 2019 to 2024 and a paraprofessional at Hillside Elementary and Valley Forge Elementary Schools from 2014 to 2018, according to the district.

The news release stated that the investigation is ongoing, and that anyone with information about the matter should contact the Tredyffrin Police Department at 610-644-3221.

Originally Published: May 1, 2025 at 8:04 AM EDT