On September 11, Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography and five counts of manufacturing child pornography.
Before his arrest, Schobel was a former teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township, PA and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The convictions result from Schobel’s “elaborate child exploitation catfishing scheme” that he developed to trick and entice teenage girls into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, including a student at his school.
The investigation into Schobel’s activities began in late 2022 when French social media site Yubo flagged activity stemming from two linked accounts it believed were being used to groom teenage girls online. The accounts were linked to the screen names “jillmoreno131″ and “sophiavan423,″ both of which purported to be those of a 17-year-old girl but were later linked back to Schobel. These accounts appeared to be “targeting and grooming teenage girls, seeking our girls’ accounts and asking to exchange messages on Snapchat.”
After tracking the IP address linked to the accounts, authorities discovered Schobel was using these accounts to communicate with potential victims while on the school’s campus and during working hours. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found evidence on Snapchat of “hundreds of purported minor victims, thousands of pages of chats, and thousands of pornographic images and videos.”
Though Schobel denied targeting any of his students when investigators first confronted him with their findings, images and videos later discovered on Schobel’s accounts showed he solicited photographs from a student at his school. Agents also uncovered communications between Schobel and a student from the previous school he taught at, the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts.
Following the investigation, the school board voted to fire him. A spokesperson for the school system described Schobel’s crimes as an ”egregious violation of Lower Merion School district policy” and a “horrifying violation of the trust of our students and families.”
U.S. District Judge John Murphy stated that Schobel “committed a ‘shocking abuse of trust’ by deceiving young victims and praying on their vulnerabilities.” Murphy emphasized that Schobel made the conscious decision to repeat these crimes over and over again, harming numerous teenage victims. Murphy went on to call Schobel’s actions a scheme “designed to manipulate children,” focusing on the methodical steps required to carry out these crimes.
Additionally, U.S. Attorney Romero said, “As a teacher, Jeremy Schobel was tasked with developing young minds. As a predator though, he chose to deceive and sexually exploit underage girls online – often from his school classroom.” Romero states that the arrest and conviction are one step further in ensuring the protection of children from abuse and providing Schobel’s victims with a measure of justice, something his office considers a top priority.
Law enforcement agencies have noted an increase in cases involving predators using social media or other online platforms to contact their victims. The CSE Institute urges parents and caregivers to monitor social media usage and openly communicate with their children for protection. Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, explains how social media has created a “new realm” of opportunities related to child exploitation. Accordingly, it becomes increasingly important for children to practice internet safety and share information with their parents or a trusted adult. Additionally, parents and caregivers are encouraged to become familiar with online websites and social media to assist in identifying imposters.
The CSE Institute applauds the efforts of the FBI, Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella, and cooperating agencies for their collaborative efforts to prosecute Schobel for his crimes against minors in our Commonwealth. We commend the diligence of law enforcement for taking steps to protect children in their communities by conducting investigations into child sexual abuse.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates as they become available.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.