PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A former Girard College teacher and Boy Scout leader has been charged after he allegedly sexually abused a student for two years during his time at the school, the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office said Monday.
Keith Steininger, 68, was charged with sexual contact with a student, indecent assault on a person under the age of 13, unlawful contact with a minor, endangering the welfare of a child and other related crimes, less than two years after he retired from Girard College in 2022.
Steininger worked for 41 years at Girard College, a preparatory boarding school for students in grades 1 through 12 who come from families with limited financial resources and a single parent or guardian.
The investigation into the long-serving teacher began after Upland Borough police received a report in January from a concerned foster parent who said her foster child disclosed that he had been sexually abused during his time at Girard, police said.
According to police, the former student alleged that Steininger inappropriately touched him while he was staying with him from 2018 to 2020. The former student was between 11 and 13 years old during the period of abuse.
The former student claimed the sexual abuse ended when he left Girard and stopped spending time with Steininger at the former teacher’s home, police said.
During an interview with the Delaware County Child Advocacy Center in February, the former student showed detectives text messages from Steininger.
Later, on April 11, Steininger acknowledged the sexual abuse and apologized in a telephone conversation with the former student.
Because Steininger’s work at Girard College spanned more than four decades, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer believes more victims are yet to come forward.
“Unfortunately, we believe that – given the defendant’s long tenure working with children – it is highly likely that additional victims will come forward. We ask anyone with information to contact the Upland Police Department at 610-872-3040 x 207 or Criminal Investigations Division Detective Sergeant Steve Bannar at 610-891-4118.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to Girard College for a statement and has not heard back.
