March 2, 2007
School Principal Found in Office Naked with Sex Toys Watching Gay Porn
Peter Cassels READ TIME: 1 MIN.
When Bethlehem, Pa., police entered the office of a school principal to arrest him for allegedly selling crystal meth, he was naked with a collection of sex toys and watching gay porn.
According to The Morning Call, an Allentown newspaper, police on Feb. 28 also found John Acerra, 50, principal of Nitschmann Middle School, with a glass drug pipe and $200 in marked money on his desk, minutes after an informant wearing a wire arranged to buy meth from him.
Bethlehem schools Superintendent Joseph Lewis said law enforcement officials called him shortly after the arrest, but no one told him Acerra was naked or watching pornography.
"This is all bizarre," Lewis told The Morning Call March 1 after a news conference in his office at the Bethlehem Area School District.
Lewis also said he never heard concerns about Acerra regarding drugs or pornography. "I've never received a complaint," Lewis said. "I've been superintendent for five years and I've never gotten an e-mail, phone call or note."
The school superintendent said police told him they do not believe Acerra sold drugs to children. An internal investigation will be conducted, Lewis said.
Acerra, a 28-year educator and principal since 2000, is in Lehigh County Prison under $200,000 bail. He is charged with possession with intent to deliver, manufacture or create methamphetamine, delivery of a controlled or counterfeit substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Peter Cassels is a recipient of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association's Excellence in Journalism award. His e-mail address is [email protected].