Former Chesco Teacher Sexually Assaulted Child, Authorities Say

WEST GOSHEN, PA — A Florida man and former teacher at multiple Chester County schools was arrested after police said he sexually assaulted a child numerous times a decade ago.

Marc Spera, 57, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was a teacher at the Church Farm School, a boarding school in Exton, from 1995 to 2010. He lived on campus while employed there, police said, and the assaults he's accused of occurred between 2008 and 2010.

An investigation began in Dec. 2019 when a now-adult reported the incidents, which occurred when the victim was in 7th and 8th grades.

Spera took the boy back to his campus apartment, first giving him back and body rubs and then giving him gifts like a video game console and a headset, police said.

It escalated the next year when the boy was a student in Spera's computer class, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office. It was during this time that Spera performed oral sex on him and fondled him on at least 10 occasions, according to authorities. The victim told police that he received a new computer system, as well as a better grade than he deserved in the class.

A warrant was issued and agents with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrested Spera on June 2 at Admiral Farragut Academy, a private boarding school where he was teaching at in St. Petersburg.

Prior to working at the Church Farm School, Spera was employed as a teacher at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge from 1993 to 1995. He also worked at the Robinson School in Puerto Rico from 2010 to 2012, the Hampshire Country School in New Hampshire from 2013 to 2015, and the Squaw Valley Academy in California from 2015 to 2016.

He was extradited from Pinellas County Jail in Florida to Chester County Prison last Thursday, June 12. He faces faces numerous charges including statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, and related counts.

Police are asking for the public's help in identifying any other related incidents or assaults.

If you have any information, contact Chester County Detective Michael Buchmann at 484-875-6022.

A preliminary hearing is forthcoming.