Former North Montco Technical Career Center teacher draws jail for sexting with students

NORRISTOWN — A former substitute teacher at North Montco Technical Career Center in Towamencin was sentenced to some time behind bars and a lengthy probationary period for sexting with female students through the social media application Snapchat.Stephen Andrew Catania, 30, of the first block of North School Lane in Souderton, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by five years’ probation in connection with incidents that occurred in 2019. The sentence means Catania will be under court supervision for about seven years.The sentence was imposed by Judge Thomas C. Branca, who during a nonjury trial earlier this year convicted Catania of charges of criminal solicitation for child pornography and corruption of minors. The judge acquitted Catania of charges of unlawful contact with a minor and harassment.Assistant District Attorney Caroline Goldstein sought jail time against Catania.“He was a teacher and these students looked up to him. He was a mentor. They trusted him and instead, he abused their trust and victimized them,” Goldstein said. “He took advantage of his role as a mentor and a teacher so jail time was appropriate and certainly warranted. Thanks to this conviction he won’t…
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