Chesco teacher charged with sex assault of former student

A 38-year-old woman who taught science at a Chester County high school was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting a former male student, District Attorney Tom Hogan said.

Melissa Bonkoski, a teacher and softball coach at Owen J. Roberts High School in South Coventry Township until she resigned recently, was arrested earlier this month and accused of having inappropriate contact with the victim. She was rearrested Tuesday and charged with engaging in sex with the victim.

"Rule No. 1 if you are a teacher or a coach: Do not have sex with a student," Hogan said. "Breaking this rule is a one-way ticket to arrest, losing your job, and prison. Not to mention the profound damage to the victim and the school community which you are entrusted to serve."

Bonkoski, of Stowe, engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim, who was 16 at the time, at her home last December, Hogan said.

The investigation was launched in March after the victim's girlfriend found suspicious text messages from the Bonkoski to the teenager, Hogan said.

The victim was a student in Bonkoski's science class during his freshman year.

Bonkoski allegedly started communicating with the student outside class and then kissed him in her car.

The teen wanted to end their contact, but Bonkoski continued to send him text messages using a "burner phone" that she obtained only for him.

"I thought I was being smart" using the burner phone, she allegedly told investigators.

Bonkoski was arraigned Tuesday and posted her $50,000 bail.