Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Teacher's aide caught in hotel party with boys sentenced to 3 to 6 years in prison

(Original post 4-24-08)

Abbie Jane Swogger, 34, of Harrison, an ex-teacher’s aide and stripper who was charged for holding a sex, drugs, and drinking party at a New Kensington, PA hotel February 21st and 22nd, was charged with more crimes for more sexual encounters involving minors.

Swogger faces 33 additional charges, including stripping for three men and three boys January 16 in the residence of a 15 year old Natrona, PA boy. Police claimed that Swogger allowed the men and boys to touch her inappropriately, and that weed was used in the party. Swogger also allegedly performed a sex act on a 15 year old boy in February 2 while a man watched after the striptease incident.

A third incident, where a 17 year old boy from Harrison, PA, admitted to starting a sexual relationship with Swogger for a few weeks starting in January, was also mentioned in a criminal complaint.

Photos, taken with a cell phone camera, surfaced on the Internet in the days after Swogger's arrest.

If the Pennsylvania AOC is 16, and the “victims” were not encountered during Swogger’s employment as a teacher’s aide, then sexual activity with over 16’s isn’t illegal. Immoral, yes, but not illegal.

She is accused of having sex with the boy in her rented house in Natrona Heights and "on numerous occasions" gave him alcohol and marijuana.

When confronted with that by New Kensington police, Swogger allegedly asked police, "How serious is that?"

Swogger was charged with numerous counts relating to a party with teens that she had in a hotel room last February 22. She faced charges of corruption of minors, possession with intent to deliver cocaine, and trying to get two 15 year old girls to have sex with her.


A 17-year-old male and an adult witness told investigators that Ms. Swogger drove them to a house in Arnold and gave another juvenile $500 to purchase crack cocaine, which they took to the hotel. The 17-year-old also told police that he witnessed Ms. Swogger sell smaller portions of the crack to two adults -- one a $20 transaction, the other for $100.

When they initially searched the hotel room, police found two bags containing different amounts of crack. They also found a digital scale and a box of baggies. One of the two 15-year-old girls who was in the hotel room told investigators that Ms. Swogger had rubbed her leg and attempted to touch her breasts. Then, she said, Ms. Swogger told her that the two of them and the other 15-year-old girl should all have sex together, but the girls refused.

As a result, Ms. Swogger faces additional charges of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse.

Ms. Swogger had admitted having sex with the 17-year-old male, and police found numerous discarded condom wrappers in the room.
On Feb. 28 after Swogger's arrest, she allegedly left her house and asked two girls to give a cell phone to one of the youths from the hotel party. Her bond was revoked for leaving her house without authorization.

She also allegedly offered to give two girls $40 to beat up another girl who allegedly posted one of Swogger's nude photos on the Web. Besides the charges from the hotel party, Swogger was charged with unlawful contact with minors, corrupting the morals of minors, and soliciting sex from two teenage girls. Duke George, her attorney, called the new charges "even more ridiculous than the previous ones."

Prosecutors from Westmoreland and Allegheny counties have agreed to combine all of the charges into one case to be prosecuted in Allegheny County.

District Judge Carolyn Bengel is scheduled to preside over Swogger’s preliminary hearing, scheduled for May 1.

Swogger remains in the Westmoreland County jail.

(Update 5-2-08) All of Swogger's charges will be consolidated into three cases and heard in Allegheny County. The former teacher's aide and stripper is being held on $150,000 bond and her preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 15 before District Judge Carolyn S. Bengel.

(Update 5-15-08) Swogger had her preliminary hearing today, and she's being held on about 40 charges. Some of the boys testified about sexual and drug-laced encounters, charges that Swogger said were lies.

"I thought it was outrageous. They're lying to save their own butts from getting in trouble for the things that they've done."

All told, Swogger is charged with involuntary sexual deviate intercourse, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, corruption of minors, furnishing liquor to minors, unlawful contact with minors and possession with intent to deliver.


One of the January incidents is described by local police like so:

"Swogger danced for a period of time before stripping off the outfit and appearing in the nude. During the performance, all of the males present were permitted by Swogger to touch her nude body including but not limited to her breasts and genital areas. Swogger posed nude in various positions while being photographed by the participants. One of these photographs depicts her sitting nude on a couch with six of the victims. While at this party, the participants consumed the provided alcohol and were exposed to or ingested marijuana."


Defense attorney Duke George said the sex charges are even more ridiculous than those filed for the alleged party at the hotel.


Swogger is being held on $150,000 bond, an amount her attorney said Swogger cannot raise.

(Update 5-26-09) This morning, Swogger changed her plea to guilty as a bench (non jury) trial was scheduled to start in her case. She pleaded guilty to 11 charges involving a 15 year old victim in her case. 17 more charges were dropped. Her total sentence is 3 to 6 years in a Pennsylvania prison, followed by 36 years of probation. Conditions of her probation include registering as a sex offender for the rest of her life, undergoing substance abuse treatment, and having no contact with the victim in her case.

“I want to say I’m very sorry for hurting anyone. I’m sorry for not being the role model I should have been. I’m very, very sorry," Swogger said during the hearing turned sentencing.

Assistant District Attorney Laura Ditka stated that the plea was done, because in her own words, "I wanted to make sure she was not working with children anytime in the near future. These charges should preclude her from working with children for the entire time of her life. She doesn’t have good judgment when she has access to minors.”

1 comment:

SMP said...

She's yet another example of perverted women preying on teenagers and thinking she should be able to get away with it. Why? Because people tend to demonize the men more than the women. This allows female predators to get away with assaults more than men because society has been under the fog of believing "boys will be boys" (i.e. "He wasn't raped .. he got lucky!") and if a guy doesn't want it, teenager or adult, he can always fight a woman off.

I'm glad to see people are finally starting to take such assaults seriously. I wonder, however, if this case isn't being taken seriously just because she also assaulted two girls. Had she not done so to girls, would they still be thinking of her as a predator?

Great post! The issue of women predators needs desperately to be addressed, so thank you for doing so!

SMP