Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Former high school teacher sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexual abuse and exploitation of minors

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a former teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township, PA, and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy to 30 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release for an elaborate child exploitation catfishing scheme Schobel developed to lure young teenage girls, including one who attended his school.

For more than three years, often from classrooms at Harriton High, the suspect posed online as various underage girls. He created elaborate, fake profiles to trick his underage victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

Schobel was arrested and charged with child abuse in June 2023 and indicted in November 2023. In March, he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and five counts of producing child pornography. His conviction requires him to register as a sex offender under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law.

“As a teacher, Jeremy Schobel’s job was to develop young minds,” said U.S. Attorney Romero. “As a predator, however, he chose to deceive and sexually exploit underage girls online — often from his classroom. Today’s sentencing closes the book on Schobel’s decades of catfishing and provides a measure of justice for his victims. Protecting children from abuse will always be a top priority for my office and our partners at the FBI.”

“Mr. Schobel abused his position of public trust to take advantage of those we expected him to protect,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. “The sexual exploitation of children is one of the most devious crimes we investigate and today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that the FBI and our partners will work tirelessly to protect children from abuse and exploitation.”

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Abuse and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella.