Cambria Heights High School
PITTSBURGH - An illegal sexual relationship between a girl and her teacher was so well-known that students at a Pennsylvania high school voted them "Cutest Couple," says a lawsuit that follows the teacher's guilty plea.
A Jane Doe filed suit June 20 against the Cambria Heights School District and Isaac Vescovi, who was arrested in October and earlier this year pleaded guilty to intercourse/sexual contact with a 17-year-old student.
District Attorney Greg Neugebauer told WJAC that Vescovi had sent the student more than 4,000 messages. Vescovi was sentenced in April to up to two years in jail.
Now, the school district is in legal trouble, with the lawsuit claiming the district failed to properly train, supervise and discipline its employees.
"The District had in place a policy and/or custom of ignoring reports of sexual violence and/or assault against female students," the lawsuit says.
"The District had in place a policy and/or custom of permitting dangerous and sexually violent teachers to remain employed in the schools of the District."
Vescovi was the student's homeroom teacher for three years and in the 2022-23 school year was also her math teacher. The lawsuit says he spent his time during homeroom grooming the student with inappropriate flirting.
When she was 16, the student received social media messages from Vescovi that escalated to "explicit pictures and videos" on Snapchat and in text messages. Vescovi "persuaded" the student to visit him alone in his classroom, where they would engage in "inappropriate and illicit touching, kissing and groping," the suit says.
They started doing the same in various parking lots in Altoona during summer 2023. The student was 16 at the time.
"News of these 'dates' to Altoona became widely known throughout the District, leading District personnel to question Vescovi about his relationship with Plaintiff, which resulted in Vescovi admitting to District personnel that he was 'hanging out' with Plaintiff," the suit says.
"Nonetheless, the District refused and/or failed to report the illicit relatinship or take any action to protect Plaintiff from her assailant."
Vescovi, a former collegiate player, was also the girl's coach on the school's basketball team. In summer 2024, they started having sexual intercourse at his home, the suit says, and in a hotel room in Indiana.
Cambria Heights had notice this relationship was illegal, the suit says. Vescovi was 29 years old when he was arrested in October.
"The relationship was so well-known at Cambria Heights that the student body submitted and voted for Plaintiff and Vescovi as the 'cutest couple' for the yearbook," the suit says.
At least one student and teacher reported the relationship, but Cambria Heights' reponse showed a "reckless disregard of the actual knowledge that Vescovi was sexually assaulting Plaintiff," the suit says.
In the aftermath, the student says she has experienced post-traumatic stress disorder, panic attacks, depression, nightmares, shame and loss of reputation. She is represented by Ronald Carnevali, Jr. of Spence, Custer, Saylor, Wolfe & Rose.
