Former High School Teacher Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Minors

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jeremy Schobel, 33, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a former teacher at Harriton High School in Lower Merion Township, PA, and the High School of Creative and Performing Arts in Philadelphia, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge John F. Murphy to 30 years' imprisonment and 20 years of supervised release for an elaborate child exploitation catfishing scheme that Schobel developed to entice young teenage girls, including one who was a student at his school.

For more than three years, and often from classrooms at Harriton High, the defendant posed as different minor girls online, creating extensive, fake profiles to deceive his underage victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.

Schobel was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with child exploitation offenses in June of 2023 and indicted in November 2023. In March, he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography and five counts of manufacture of child pornography. His conviction requires him to register as a sex offender pursuant to Megan's Law in Pennsylvania.

"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. Today's sentence closes the book on Schobel's years of catfishing and gives his victims a measure of justice. Protecting children from abuse will always be a top priority for my office and our partners at the FBI."

"Mr. Schobel abused his position of public trust to prey on those we expected him to protect," said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Philadelphia. "The sexual exploitation of children is among the most devious crimes we investigate and today's sentencing serves as a reminder that the FBI and our partners will work tirelessly to protect children from abuse and exploitation."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Rotella.