Former Harriton High School teacher gets 30 years in prison for child abuse and exploitation

PHILADELPHIA — A former Lower Merion School District teacher will spend the next 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting teenage girls to send him explicit photos.

Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John F. Murphy to 30 years in prison and 20 years of probation.

In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia called Schobel’s case an “elaborate catfishing scheme aimed at child exploitation that Schobel developed to lure young teenage girls, including one who attended his school.”

According to court documents, on Nov. 14, 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip from Yubo stating that someone “was engaged in online ‘grooming’ of minors.”

Prosecutors said FBI agents traced the accounts to Schobel during their investigation.

Prosecutors say Schobel waived his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with the arresting FBI agents.

“(Schobel) admitted to both creating fake profiles (jillmoreno131 and sophiavan423) and posing as an underage girl so he could communicate with underage teenage girls,” court documents said.

Schobel was arrested and charged on a criminal complaint of child abuse in June 2023. He was arraigned 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,” U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said in a statement. “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.”

When Schobel was arrested in June 2023, school officials released a statement saying he had been hired at the start of the 2021-2022 school year and that he had no criminal record that would prevent him from being hired.

“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 the FBI’s Philadelphia Office. “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.”