PA HS teacher who ‘catfished’ teenage girls gets 30 years in prison: Usdoj

Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, was an English teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia when he created the Snapchat and Yubo accounts he used to “seduce young teenage girls, including one who attended his school,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice news release.

For more than three years, Schobel posed as fictitious girls online and “created elaborate, fake profiles designed to trick his minor victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.” According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he frequently visited this profile and engaged in this behavior in “classrooms at Harriton High.”

When Daily Voice Lower Merion School District administrators first reported Schobel’s arrest in June 2023. They had just suspended him and sent us the following statement:

“While we understand this is an ongoing investigation, LMSD is not aware of any inappropriate interactions between Mr. Schobel and LMSD students at this time (…). Additionally, the district has not received any complaints or concerns from students or staff regarding his behavior at school.”

After his arrest, FBI agents alleged that Schobel “admitted to both creating the fake profiles” and “advised agents that he had been committing these crimes for years,” according to court documents obtained by the Daily Voice.

Court documents show he pleaded guilty in March 2024 to receiving child pornography and five counts of producing child pornography.

For his “extensive child exploitation catfishing,” he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy to 30 years in prison, 20 years of supervised release, and must register as a sex offender under Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law, as noted in the release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

“As a teacher, Jeremy Schobel’s job was to develop young minds,” said U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. 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.”

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