Former Philadelphia high school teacher sentenced to 30 years in prison for child exploitation and catfishing

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A former teacher in Lower Merion Township and Philadelphia has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for a catfishing scheme that targeted child exploitation to lure teenage girls, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

Jeremy Schobel33, was arrested in June 2023 on child exploitation charges and indicted in November 2023. In March, he pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography and five counts of producing child pornography, the press release said.

According to the law firm, Schobel posed as underage girls online and created fake profiles to entice underage victims to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves.

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

Schobel was a former teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The press release said the plan had been underway for more than three years and often in classrooms at Harriton High.

He must register as a sex offender under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law and will receive 20 years of supervised release in addition to his 30-year prison sentence.

“Mr. Schobel abused his position of public trust to take advantage of those we expected him to protect,” Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia, said in the news release. “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.”