Former Lower Merion Township teacher sentenced in child porn case

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A former teacher in Lower Merion Township will spend three decades behind bars in a child pornography case.

Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, was sentenced for soliciting explicit pictures and videos of underage girls by catfishing them online.

Schobel was arrested and charged with child exploitation offenses in June of 2023 and indicted in November 2023.

READ MORE: Teacher allegedly posed as 17-year-old on social media to get photos, videos from teens

In March, he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and five counts of manufacture of child pornography.

"As a teacher, Jeremy Schobel was tasked with developing young minds," said U.S. Attorney Romero. "As a predator, though, he chose to deceive and sexually exploit underage girls online - often from his school classroom."

Schobel was an English teacher at Harriton High School in the Lower Merion School District.

He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and 20 years of supervised release.