Former Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy teacher admits having sexual contact with student

NORRISTOWN – A former Montgomery County Christian school teacher has admitted to having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student, reaching a plea deal with prosecutors that includes time behind bars and supervision of sex offenders .

Jason Kavistan, 41, of the 7100 block of Lawndale Avenue, Philadelphia, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 5 to 23 months in the county jail after pleading guilty to a felony charge of institutional sexual assault in connection to incidents with a female student between January 2017 and December 2019 while teaching at Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy in Upper Moreland.

The plea deal reached between prosecutors and the defense will also require Kavistan to serve five years of probation after his parole, which means he will be under court supervision for about seven years.

During the hearing, Judge Thomas P. Rogers clarified that the negotiated sentence was reached between the district attorney’s office and the defense attorney and that he was not involved in the negotiations.

Kavistan is prohibited from having contact with the victim and his family and is prohibited from having unsupervised contact with minors except his own children.

The former teacher must also undergo a psychosexual evaluation and comply with all treatment recommendations. He will be under the supervision of a sex offender during his parole and probation periods.

Kavistan, who previously registered an address in the 6800 block of Oakland Street in Philadelphia, faces a 25-year obligation to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania registration law. and notification of sex offenders.

The Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy, located in the 1800 block of Byberry Road in the Huntingdon Valley section of Upper Moreland, is a private educational school that is part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, according to court documents. The academy offers education from pre-kindergarten through 10th grade.

Kavistan was employed as an “upper grade teacher” at the school from September 2011 until his resignation on November 24, 2019, according to court documents.

The girl was between 14 and 16 years old at the time of the incidents, according to court documents.

The investigation into Kavistan began in February 2019 when Upper Moreland Police received a ChildLine report filed by an appointed reporter who had knowledge of a possible inappropriate relationship between Kavistan and a female student, according to the criminal complaint filed by the detective. of Upper Moreland Todd C. Smith.

When the girl and Kavistan were first questioned by authorities, they denied that anything inappropriate had taken place. However, in November 2019, the girl came forward and reported that she and Kavistan had engaged in sexual activity, according to the arrest affidavit.

The girl’s father, according to court documents, told police that Kavistan had texted him on November 25, 2019, in which he said, “I feel like God is telling me to go to you and ask for forgiveness. The investigation revealed that a day earlier, Kavistan had emailed the school principal, tendering his resignation.

When the girl was re-interviewed in November, she revealed that her relationship with Kavistan began when she was in 8th grade during the 2016-2017 school year and lasted until the summer of 2019, according to reports. court documents. The girl told detectives that she and Kavistan had met at his residence on several occasions while his “wife was away with the children”, according to the criminal complaint.

The girl said Kavistan kissed her, touched her inappropriately and had other indecent contact with her during the encounters.

The girl also told investigators that she and Kavistan met “at school if we could find a place without cameras,” according to the arrest affidavit.

A school official recalled an occasion when Kavistan and the girl were alone in a room with the door and blinds closed and when she knocked on the door they answered and were fully dressed, according to court documents.

Investigators said they reviewed cellphone records which revealed both text messages and phone calls between the girl and Kavistan, “estimated at over a thousand contacts”.

Other charges of endangering the welfare of a child, bribery of a minor and unlawful contact with a minor were dismissed against Kavistan as part of the plea agreement.

Defense attorney Geoffrey Vincent Seay represented Kavistan.