57-year-old teacher asks 13-year-old if he can kiss her on field trip, PA cops say
An eighth grade teacher called his 13-year-old student to his desk and asked if she wanted to kiss him during an upcoming field trip he was chaperoning, Pennsylvania police said.
John Richards, 57, concealed his phone with his laptop and showed the teen a typed out message on his device. The message said he wanted to kiss her twice on the field trip, the Montgomery County District Attorney said in a March 19 news release. This happened in a Norristown Middle School classroom, officials said.
“Let me know yes or no before he (sic) have to get off the bus...” part of the message read, according to prosecutors.
Richards sent a second message to the teen after he initially asked to kiss her, officials said. Police later found the message on the teacher’s phone.
“That came out all wrong. I’m sorry for demanding anything. I have no right,” the message read, according to prosecutors. “When I see you my heart skips a beat. When you are around I find myself staring without meaning to. I wonder what your lips taste like and I hope to god there’s a chance for me to find out. I don’t know what else to say besides I think you’re amazing.”
The girl went back to her desk and contacted her dad, the school principal and the school resource officer on March 17, according to officials.
In a statement shared with McClatchy News, along with families of the district, school officials said they plan to “follow the legal process to discharge a teacher from employment.”
Two days later, Richards turned himself in to police.
He is charged with attempted institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, attempted solicitation for institutional sexual assault, along with misdemeanor charges, prosecutors said.
A judge set his bail at $10,000 and ordered him to have no contact with the victim or minors, prosecutors said.
Norristown is about a 20-mile drive northwest from Philadelphia.
This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 4:39 PM with the headline "57-year-old teacher asks 13-year-old if he can kiss her on field trip, PA cops say."
