Police: Palmerton man gave beer to student, touched inappropriately

A Palmerton man has been charged with giving beer to and inappropriately touching a teenage student at a private school in Tamaqua where he worked.

Jordan M. Beggan, 26, also faces charges in Carbon County, where he is accused of sending nude photographs to a teenager.

The Schuylkill County charges, filed by Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Child Predator Section, are institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors, along with misdemeanors for furnishing alcohol to a minor and indecent assault without consent.

He was arraigned before District Judge Stephen J. Bayer of Tamaqua and remains in Schuylkill County jail under $100,000 bail.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. May 2.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, authorities on Oct. 2, 2017, were investigating reports of unlawful contact involving a student at Behavioral Health Associates, an alternative education school in Tamaqua.

They were asked to talk with Beggan, who was an instructional assistant.

Beggan told the agents he had worked at the school since 2015, and had known the student before that, having seen him at parties and other social events.

The two had once been Facebook friends, but now used Snapchat to communicate, Beggan told the agents.

Beggan had direct contact with the student at the school, according to the affidavit.

Beggan told the agents he and the student would go for drives and talk.

In the spring of 2016, the student would call Beggan and they would go for rides in his car. They did that about 10 times, with Beggan picking up the student in Tamaqua late in the day, then driving around Schuylkill County.

Beggan shared beer with the student and talked with him as they parked in rural areas.

Twice, he told the agents, he touched the student inappropriately. He said he felt bad and apologized after the touching.

At the time, Beggan was 24 and the student was 16, according to the affidavit.

Beggan cried during his interview with the agents, saying he had “hooked up” with several younger guys on the Grindr app over the past year.

He said he was having trouble coming to terms with being gay, and that no one, including his family and fiancee, knew.

The student told the agents he and Beggan became closer after Beggan began working at the school.

He corroborated Beggan’s statements, and said Beggan sent him a text apologizing after the touching incident, which the student said made him feel uncomfortable.

The Carbon County charges, also filed by the state Attorney General, are unlawful contact with a minor, criminal use of a communication facility, obscene and other sexual materials and performances — dissemination to minors, and corruption of minors.

The charges stemmed from accusations that Beggan sent nude photographs to a teenager via Snapchat in April 2017.

Beggan admitted to sending the images, according to an affidavit of probable cause fled by Attorney General Agent Daniel Block.

Beggan’s case is pending in Carbon County court.