The victim stood at the front of the courtroom, describing the repercussions she’s faced in the last six months since reporting a teacher’s sexual misconduct at Seton LaSalle High School. The girl, now 16, no longer feels comfortable there. Her fellow students see her differently.
And she has distressing thoughts. But when it came time for him to speak, the judge sought to focus on her bravery, praising her after accepting a guilty plea from Damon Gall, the former teacher who groped her. “She doesn’t realize it right now, but she will someday,” Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer said.
“She’s heroic.” School, he told the defendant before him, is supposed to be a safe place. “And who are you supposed to be able to trust at school? The teachers.
” But the teen’s whole life has changed, Beemer continued, “because she had the courage to come forward and do this and tell what you did.” Gall, 25, of Canonsburg pleaded guilty on Wednesday to corruption of minors and indecent assault stemming from an incident following a math class on Dec. 12.
The plea agreement called for probation, which Beemer set at seven years. Gall must also register as a sex offender for 25 years and participate in mental health and sexual offender treatment. “You do not want to find yourself back in front of this court for not following these conditions,” the judge said.
“You’re getting your freedom here as opposed to a jail cell. “Don’t waste it.” According.