Married Pennsylvania teachers accused of sexually abusing student



SCRANTON, Pa. -- Two married Pennsylvania teachers are accused of sexually abusing a teenage student, according to WNEP.

The two teachers from Lackawanna County, Ruth and Nick Baggetta, were arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges of institutional sexual assault. They're also charged with corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

Ruth Baggetta is a music teacher at Lakeland High School and the school's band director. Her husband teaches at Fell Charter School near Carbondale.

Both face charges for the abuse of the same girl, starting when she was 16 years old.

Earlier this month, a student, now 18 years old, came forward with allegations against the couple.

According to arrest records, the Baggettas were engaged to be married when the girl confided in Nick Baggetta about problems at home. They became friends and that friendship later turned sexual, she said.

The teen said Ruth Baggetta didn't have a problem with the relationship and allegedly told her husband to "get it out of his system" before the couple married.

The girl told investigators that Ruth Baggetta was more than aware she often spent Friday nights with the couple, sometimes sleeping in their bed with them.

On one occasion, the girl said, Ruth Baggetta said she bribed her husband by telling him he could have sex with both of them.

Authorities have charged Ruth with failure to report child abuse because she allegedly knew about her husband's relationship with the girl but said nothing. She has been suspended from her job at Lakeland.

The district solicitor saying in a statement:

"Ruth Baggetta was suspended from her employment with the school district immediately after the allegations were brought to the district's attention. The district is taking appropriate action to convert the suspension to indefinite and unpaid."