A former Montgomery County Public Schools teacher has been arrested and charged with enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography after a citizens group posed in a chat as a 13-year-old girl who agreed to meet with him for a sexual encounter, prosecutors said.
Support our journalism. Subscribe today. arrow-right
Richard W. Scherer, 70, of Depew, N.Y., had communications with a “purported 13-year-old” that lasted between April and June and became “graphic and sexual in nature,” according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Western District of New York. Scherer mentioned that he “taught sexual education in the past,” and he allegedly communicated with another pur-ported minor, this one 8, prosecutors said.
The charges do not appear to be connected to his 25 years as a teacher in Montgomery County, but prosecutors said in a news release that years earlier, Scherer resigned from the school system “after notice of allegations of misconduct involving a student,” according to a letter obtained in the investigation.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
An attorney for Scherer provided no comment. Relatives of the former teacher could not be reached for comment.
More schools in the Washington region will mandate masks in the fall
According to an affidavit filed July 28 in support of a criminal complaint against Scherer in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, Scherer was allegedly in contact with the group Predator Poacher, which maintains several online accounts “that purport to be minors.” The group uses the accounts “to chat with adults who later meet for sexual contact,” and then records the contact, interviews the individuals and uploads the videos online, according to the government. The FBI was brought in during late June at the request of the Buffalo Police Department, which received a call from a Predator Poacher group member, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, a Predator Poacher group member made contact with Scherer in early April, using an “Undercover Instagram account” that Scherer apparently thought belonged to a 13-year-old girl. A meeting was planned at a store in Buffalo, according to the affidavit. When Scherer showed up for the meeting, he was confronted by Predator Poacher group members, according the affidavit.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
The group interviewed Scherer for nearly an hour, in which he allegedly admitted to being a pedophile, according to the affidavit. The affidavit alleges that Scherer told the group during the interview that “he received nude images from four minor girls.”
The group called police after the interview, according to the affidavit. Two images of child pornography were found on Scherer’s cellphone, prosecutors said.
A county, hit by the pandemic, grapples with soaring crime after spending a decade lowering it.
Prosecutors said that reports from 2011 obtained from the Montgomery school system indicate that a fourth-grade student’s parent made a report to an assistant principal “about some concerns she had regarding possible inappropriate behavior by Mr. Scherer while interacting with students.” The student said, according to the report, that when Scherer “has lunch with a particular student,” “he pulls her to him and hugs her, that he has patted her rear end and hips, and that he pressures her to eat lunch with him,” prosecutors said.
Advertisement
Story continues below advertisement
According to the affidavit, the Montgomery schools superintendent said in a letter to the state superintendent of schools in September 2011 that Scherer resigned as a teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages “after notice of allegations of misconduct involving a student.” The letter stated: “I recommend that Mr. Scherer’s certificate be revoked,” and the certificate was subsequently revoked, according to the affidavit.
A Montgomery schools spokesperson said the system would not comment on the arrest, noting that the charges did not occur in county school district.
“Montgomery County Public Schools takes all allegations of child abuse and neglect very seriously,” the school system’s statement said. “We hold our employees to a high standard of character and do not tolerate such behavior. The safety of our students is our top priority and we are committed to ensuring we maintain a safe learning environment for all.”
Former Montgomery teacher sentenced for possession of child pornography