LOWER POTTSGROVE >> A Pottsgrove High School teacher has been charged with sexual assauult after police discovered he had entered into a sexual relationship with a student.
Steven Burdan, 30, of Exeter, a business teacher and baseball coach at the school, was charged with institutional sexual assault and criminal use of a communication facility following an investigation by Lower Pottsgrove police that began in January.
The investigation began on Jan. 7 when police were notified by Pottsgrove High School and Pottsgrove School District officials about an alleged sexual relationship between Burdan and an 18-year-old female student, according to a press release issued by Lower Pottsgrove police.
Another student had learned of the relationship and notified school authorities, police said. Once the investigation was underway, parents were notified about the ongoing investigation, indicating that the teacher was “placed on administrative leave.”
The sexual encounter being investigated occurred in May 2015 while Burdan was a teacher at Pottsgrove High School, according to police.
In early April, the student provided Burdan with her phone number at the end of class. In May, Burdan contacted the student and they exchanged several text messages, during which time the student provided Burdan with her address to be picked up at her home, according to court documents. Burdan later drove her to his apartment where the student stated the two engaged in sexual intercourse.
Burdan then took her home and advised her not to make it obvious at school that they had sex, police said. The student told police that Burdan attempted to meet with her again but she declined, court papers state.
In an interview with police, Burdan admitted to having sexual intercourse with the student but insisted that the incident took place once and that it had happened in June, court documents state. He told police that it took place after the student had graduated and that he remembered that date because it was the weekend between his wedding and his honeymoon. He reported that before he met with the student he had been at a friend’s house, according to court documents.
Friends of Burdan’s confirmed that he had been present at an ongoing party that night for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. They recalled that Burdan’s fiance had not been present at the party because she had been celebrating her bachelorette party that night. They did not recall, however, that he was still there for the beginning of the fight at midnight.
Police reviewed Burdan’s phone records and found that the Waze application history on the phone had the address of the student entered into it. The entry was dated May 3.
In response to the charges, Pottsgrove School District stated in a press release Wednesday:
“The Pottsgrove School District is extremely disappointed to inform its community that Pottsgrove High School teacher Steve Burdan has been arrested for inappropriate contact with a high school student. The district is working closely with authorities to cooperate in the prosecution of this case.”
The statement also indicated that as a requirement for all staff, teachers must undergo a background check for criminal record and child abuse history. The district stated that Burdan “gave no indication of any previous criminal behavior” and that they believe it to be “an isolated incident.”
Burdan became the baseball coach at Pottsgrove in 2015 after serving as assistant for Pottstown for two years and for Alvernia University for three years, according to previous reports by The Mercury.
According to the statement, Burdan was immediately “separated from his teaching activities at the district” once the district learned of allegations against Burdan.
The incident comes only two years after 42-year-old cheerleading coach Iris Gibney was sentenced to five years probation for sexual relations with a Pottsgrove High School student.
Prior to that, in 2010, Pottsgrove High School teacher Rebecca Harvey, 33, was convicted of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male Pottsgrove High School student. She was sentenced to three years probation.
Six years earlier, Pottsgrove High School Band Director Christian Oakes, 31, was charged with having sex with two underage girls multiple times. He pleaded guilty in 2005 and received five years probation.
In 2006, one of the girls, Jeanette Chancellor, filed a lawsuit against the school district. The district settled the lawsuit for $125,000 in 2008.
That was the same year the district implemented an initiative to develop collaborative solutions for promoting appropriate conduct on the part of teachers, which included providing copies of the Pennsylvania Code of Professional Practice and Conduct to teachers.
The initiative came about at least in part because of news reports after police cited two teachers, Thomas Stock and Lindsay Siracusa, after they were discovered at 1:19 a.m. legally drunk and having sex in a car in the parking lot at Pottsgrove Middle School.
The release on Wednesday stated, “The district will continue to do everything in its power to ensure the safety and welfare of its students. We understand that this news can be very upsetting to our students. Guidance counselors will be available for students who wish to discuss this issue.”
Burdan was arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Edward C. Kropp and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing again before Kropp on May 25. Bail was set at $100,000 unsecured.
Mercury reporter Evan Brandt contributed to this report.
