Man charged with child sex crimes in Montco

A former employee at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School was arrested this week for having sex with a 12th grade student.

Michael Evan Morse, 26, is charged with institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with minors, and other crimes for having sex with a female student while she was under 18.

Officials said Morse, who worked as an audio visual technician at the high school, had sex with the student and communicated with her via cell phone between December 2014 and June 2015. The two communicated through text messages during school hours and daily phone calls, said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Morse is also charged with tampering with evidence; officials said he instructed the student to delete some of her text messages from him.

The Colonial School District placed Morse on administrative leave and contacted Whitemarsh Township police in June when school officials learned of the inappropriate relationship. Morse has since resigned from his job, Ferman said.

Morse was arraigned Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Deborah Lukens. She set his bail at 10 percent of $50,000. He was transported to Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

Morse's attorney, Marc Neff, did not immediately return a message left Wednesday afternoon.

- Laura McCrystal