A registered sex offender in Berea, Ohio, was charged last week after being caught on camera inappropriately touching his 16-year-old stepdaughter during a virtual class on Sept. 28.
Ohio man groped 16-year-old stepdaughter on camera during online class: cop https://t.co/clXz2kwb8O pic.twitter.com/T2cZnla1b7
— New York Post (@nypost) October 6, 2022
Authorities mentioned that the teenager’s stepfather, David Lowe, 52, was seen groping the girl online by her teacher and 39 classmates. Lowe was charged with the sexual imposition on Sept. 29 and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Lowe posted a $50,000 bond after the arrest, Cleaveland 19 reports.
Lt. Tom Walker with the Berea Police Department said the class witnessed Lowe rub his penis against the back of the teen’s head.
“The Ohio Virtual Academy reported to our department that a female high school student was attending class online at her home in Berea when a male identified as her stepfather came up behind her wearing only his underwear and rubbed his crotch against the back of her head,” Lt. Walker said.
The teenager’s teacher quickly called the cops after seeing the behavior.
“The teacher seeing this obscene behavior reached out to our department and knowing that the student was attending online here at her home in Berea and made us aware of what she had seen,” Lt. Walker said.
“See something, say something,” Lt. Walker said. “As law enforcement officials, it’s our job to protect the children in our community, and we want to be aware of any obscene behaviors that occur like this.”
According to the NY Post, the Ohio Virtual Academy said in a statement it is offering counseling resources to its students following the incident. Kristin Stewart, the head of the school, said any mental health support needed would be given to their students.
“As a rule, OHVA always offers students access to licensed school counselors and the availability of outside clinical staff through our partnership with Syntero for any further mental health support needed by students,” Stewart said.
Police are now advising parents to oversee online classes as well on top of already monitoring their online habits.