By Tom Fontaine
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
A former North Allegheny girls' softball coach surrendered to authorities Tuesday on charges of using a cell phone camera to snap a photo under a teenage girl's skirt at Philadelphia International Airport.
A spokeswoman for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office said police there charged Joseph Pereira, 55, a US Airways pilot from Franklin Park, with a misdemeanor count of invasion of privacy and a summary count of harassment.
Authorities said a witness alerted police after seeing Pereira snap the photo Thursday at an airport gift shop. The girl is 15.
Pereira declined comment when reached by phone. He referred questions to his attorney, Brian McMonagle of Philadelphia, who did not return a message.
When asked about Pereira's employment status, US Airways issued a statement saying only it "suspended a pilot that was detained at Philadelphia International Airport pending the outcome of an investigation."
North Allegheny spokeswoman Joy Ed said Pereira voluntarily resigned Sunday as a softball coach in the district. He recently completed his second season as co-head coach, leading the Lady Tigers to a 14-7 record and an appearance in the WPIAL playoffs. He was paid $4,276 this past season. He worked as an assistant for 13 seasons.
Ed said the district never received complaints during Pereira's tenure about improper behavior.
Parents of current and former softball players were stunned.
"No red flags went up," said Shannon Briskey of Marshall, whose daughter, Ashley, was a junior last season.
"(Pereira) never gave me any indication that anything was out of the ordinary. He was no different than any other coach I'd been around, coach-to-parent-wise and coach-to-player-wise."
Nicole Shevchik of Franklin Park, whose daughter Maria is now a freshman at Penn State, said she was "in utter shock."
"I'm sadly disappointed if the allegations are true. I just don't even know what to think. I never had any inkling that something like this would happen," she said.
Source: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_688160.html
RottenCoaches.com features articles, videos, and stories of how certain sports coaches have lost it. Some lose their temper, some lose their class, some lose their self discipline, some lose their balance, some lose their pride, and some even lose their job. We acknowledge that all persons or coaches charged or arrested are presumed innocence until charges against them are proven in court.
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