Plum HS teacher to stand trial on witness intimidation charges

PLUM, Pa. — A Plum High School teacher has been ordered by a judge to stand trial on witness intimidation charges.

Joseph Ruggieri, 40, is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.

He was arrested last month for violating a court order after authorities said he contacted the student via email in an attempt to convince her not to testify.

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Police said Ruggieri used a computer belonging to the Plum Borough School District to send the emails less than a month after he was first arrested for witness intimidation in March.

Prosecutors claimed that the emails were an attempt by Ruggieri to talk the teenage accuser out of testifying against him. His attorney, Anthony DeLuca, disagreed.

“All those statements were, all those words were, were basically, ‘Hey, don’t' be scared, don't run away if you love somebody, love them.’ That's all they said. They say nothing whatsoever about ‘Don't testify.’ They don't say anything about any intimidation, any threats,” DeLuca said.

DeLuca argued Wednesday before District Judge Linda Zucco that the alleged victim should have been present to give testimony rather than just a borough detective.

Ruggieri was ordered to remain in jail until his trial.

He is one of two teachers accused of having sex with a student. Jason Cooper is also facing charges.

A third teacher, Drew Zoldak, was accused of identifying Ruggieri's alleged victim in front of her classmates. He was also charged with witness intimidation.

Despite public backlash for their handling of the allegations and the ongoing investigation, many school district leaders are about to get a raise, Channel 11's news partners at TribLIVE have learned.

According to TribLIVE, the board approved raises for district administrators at its June 21 meeting.

Among those receiving bumps is Superintendent Timothy Glasspool, who will get $10,000 more during the 2015-16 school year as his salary increases from $132,600 to $142,600.

Other notable raises include:

Shannon Crombie, assistant high school principal