Mon Valley man charged with sexually assaulting student at Fayette County school

Daniel Cervone of Carroll Township was a JROTC instructor with Laurel Highlands High School.

By RENATTA SIGNORINI
TribLive

An instructor at Laurel Highlands High School in Fayette County was arrested at the building Tuesday morning by state police on accusations that he had sex with a female student.

Troopers said Daniel Cervone, 50, of Carroll Township, Washington County, admitted to sexually assaulting the girl in 2019 and 2020 at the high school. Police said he also showed the girl pornographic images on his cellphone and inappropriately touched her, according to court papers.

Cervone, an Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor at the Fayette County school, was charged Tuesday with intercourse/ sexual contact with a student, corruption of minors and unlawful contact with a minor. In 2023, he received a regional outstanding instructor award from the Air Force, according to information from the school district.

Cervone was being held at the Fayette County Prison on $20,000 bail. An April 7 preliminary hearing is scheduled.

It was the second arrest in less than a week involving a teacher at Laurel Highlands High School.

State police charged Martin Gatti, 50, of Uniontown, on Thursday with the same offenses.

A student reported being called to Gatti’s classroom in January, troopers said. Gatti, a social studies teacher, asked the student to give him a kiss during a conversation, according to court papers.

He is free on $40,000 unsecured bail. An April 1 preliminary hearing is scheduled.

In a statement released Tuesday, Laurel Highlands School District superintendent Jesse T. Wallace III said the district is cooperating with state police.

“We have and continue to take all steps necessary to fully train and inform our staff on appropriate staff/ student boundaries and relationships,” he said. “However, this does not lighten the sting of episodes currently under investigation.”