Chester County teacher faces charges over allegedly having sex with Conestoga High School student

Authorities in Chester County have charged a Conestoga High School teacher with dozens of offenses in connection with a sexual relationship she allegedly had with a student at the school.

Michelle Mercogliano, 35, faces 63 counts for allegedly having sex with the 16-year-old student. Charges against Mercogliano, filed by Tredyffrin Township police Wednesday, include sexual contact with a student, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of children, and related offenses. She also allegedly provided the teen with marijuana, authorities said.

Mercogliano was making arrangements to turn herself in via her attorney, the Chester County District Attorney’s Office said. She was not yet in custody as of Thursday, according to court records.

“Parents and students should be able to trust their teachers,” Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said in a statement. ”The defendant broke the law and destroyed that trust. It will not be tolerated.”

The investigation into Mercogliano began Monday after family members of the victim contacted police. His father gave police medical marijuana packaging he had found in his son’s closet, which had Mercogliano’s name on the label, according to a criminal complaint. The victim’s parents said they learned of the inappropriate sexual relationship from the victim’s sister, who learned about it directly from the teen during a trip out of town, the complaint said.

The student spoke with police, and said he and Mercogliano had had sex about 12 times, starting in February. A majority of the sexual contact was at Mercogliano’s parents’ home in Wayne, according to the complaint.

Mercogliano allegedly provided the victim with marijuana weekly since December, about 15 times in total. She communicated with the victim through Snapchat “as to go undetected,” as well as via text messages, the complaint said.

In a statement, Tredyffrin/Easttown School District Superintendent Richard Gusick said that Mercogliano was placed on leave Tuesday after the district was made aware of the investigation against her. She does not currently have access to district property, and no other students are believed to be involved in the investigation, he added.

Mercogliano, Gusick said, was a relatively new teacher at Conestoga High School, beginning work there this past fall. The complaint stated that she worked at the school as a special education reading teacher.

Gusick said that prior to working at Conestoga, Mercogliano served as a teacher at Hillside Elementary School from 2019 to 2024, and previously was a paraprofessional at both Hillside and Valley Forge Elementary School from 2014 to 2018.

The investigation into Mercogliano’s case is continuing, authorities said. Investigators asked anyone with further information to contact the Tredyffrin Township Police Department at 610-644-3221.

Staff writer Vinny Vella contributed to this article.