Judge pulls bond of Plum H.S. teacher
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PITTSBURGH – A Pennsylvania high school teacher awaiting trial on charges he had sex with a student and previously intimidated the girl by contacting her must remain jailed for again phoning and emailing the girl despite a court order, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Allegheny County Judge Jeffrey Manning revoked the bond of Plum High School teacher Joseph Ruggieri, 40, who appeared by video from the county jail for his bond revocation hearing.
Defense attorney Randall Ricciuti argued the new messages didn’t contain anything intimidating, despite the latest witness intimidation charge police filed Tuesday.
But Manning said that doesn’t matter because the evidence suggests Ruggieri contacted the girl, using a cellphone and a school-issued laptop computer, even after he was ordered not to by the court. Ruggieri was briefly jailed in April after his arrest on the earlier charges, but allowed to go home with an electronic ankle bracelet, on the condition that he not contact the girl, nor use a cellphone or the Internet.
Without acknowledging exactly what Ruggieri did, Ricciuti told reporters it’s fair to say the teacher is back in jail despite clear instructions not to contact the girl.
“I gave him instructions, the judge gave him instructions, this is what we’re left with,” Ricciuti said.
The email messages described in the new charge indicate Ruggieri referenced a favorite song of the girl, and wrote a story that police contend contained 48 veiled references to their relationship, her decision to attend college across the country, and her continued cooperation with authorities.
“You can go across the country, but it won’t be far enough to escape what you really want,” the message said, adding “… and no matter how hard you try to convince yourself to do things now that you didn’t want to before, it won’t work.”
Ricciuti said the messages appear to be “neutral” and wouldn’t consider them intimidating even if he were the father of a girl who received them under the same circumstances.
“I don’t find it intimidating,” he said.
Ruggieri faces a preliminary hearing on the newest charge next week. Ricciuti said the bond revocation means Ruggieri could remain jailed until he stands trial on all the charges in about six months.