Filipino teacher arrested in Pennsylvania, faces multiple sex-abuse charges

A search for a missing Filipino teacher in Maryland took a dramatic turn after authorities confirmed that 56-year-old Rogie Bantigue Legaspi was not missing he was in custody in Pennsylvania, facing dozens of criminal charges involving the alleged sexual abuse and exploitation of a teenage boy.

Legaspi, a seventh-grade science teacher at Hamilton Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore, was arrested in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Court records show he faces charges including trafficking in individuals, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, corruption of minors, sexual exploitation of children, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility.

The case began after the West Sadsbury Township Police Department received a ChildLine report involving a 15-year-old boy. According to the affidavit, the teenager told investigators he first met Legaspi through social media when he was about 12 years old. Authorities allege the sexual contact began after the boy turned 13 and continued during repeated meetings in Pennsylvania.

Investigators allege Legaspi regularly traveled from Maryland to Pennsylvania to meet the teenager. The boy claimed that some encounters happened inside a vehicle and at hotels and that Legaspi gave him money and gifts. Authorities also allege Legaspi introduced the teenager to another adult male during one hotel encounter.

Police said they were able to identify Legaspi using cellphone information, photographs, vehicle-registration records, hotel receipts and surveillance footage. Investigators also obtained video that allegedly showed Legaspi and the teenager together at locations in Pennsylvania.

The case stunned parents at Hamilton Elementary/Middle School. Some members of the school community had been circulating missing-person notices for Legaspi before discovering through Pennsylvania court records that he had been arrested. The Baltimore Banner reported that Legaspi has worked for Baltimore City Public Schools since 2008 and was placed on paid administrative leave after the charges became public.

Adding to the severity of the case, District Judge Lauren Holt set Legaspi’s bail at $5 million during his September 19 arraignment. He was unable to post bail and was being held at the Chester County Prison.

The criminal affidavit also states that authorities in Maryland were investigating separate allegations involving another minor, although those allegations are distinct from the Pennsylvania case.

All allegations against Legaspi remain accusations. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.