Retired Pa. teacher faces teen sex charges

SAXONBURG, Pa. (AP) — A retired teacher in western Pennsylvania is charged with trading drugs and other items for sex with teenage girls.

Investigators say 66-year-old Joe Peresie plied two girls with drugs and alcohol and gave them clothes and cell phones in exchange for sex at his home in Saxonburg, about 25 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Peresie denied the charges following a court hearing Wednesday, saying the girls were his buddies and he did nothing inappropriate.

Investigators say there are peepholes from the bedroom to the bathroom in his home and a search of the property turned up child pornography.

Peresie taught typing for more than 30 years at Freeport Area School District.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 7.