A high school swim coach and teacher from Meriden, Connecticut has been arrested and charged with having sex with an underage student.
29-year-old Michael Cwirka was a math teacher and swimming coach at Berlin High School in Connecticut, according to Eyewitness News 3. Another local media outlet, MyRecordJournal, reports that Cwirka was arrested on Monday and charged with three counts of second degree sexual assault along with five counts of fourth degree sexual assault.
Police began investigating Cwirka in February, MRJ reports. The school placed him on leave at the time, but have’t commented on his current employment status.
One of Cwirka’s students and swimmers told her therapist that she’d had a relationship with Cwirka when she was 17 years old. The Eyewitness 3 report says the alleged relationship lasted until November of last year. Police searched the student’s phone and found “more than 2100 text messages between the two from March to April,” including some portions that were sexual in nature and in which the two referred to each other as “babe.” Police also seized Cwirka’s phone, but he said his old phone was broken and he’d gotten a new one.
The student says she and Cwirka had sexual contact on several occasions.
In Ohio, this sort of conduct is covered by the sexual battery statute, which has parts that are devoted to specifically addressing the conduct of school teachers, coaches, school administrators, instructors and scouting troop leaders. Most, if not all states have similar laws. Under this statute, no person shall engage in sexual conduct with another person who is not their spouse when any of the following apply:
(1) The offender is a teacher, administrator, coach, or other person in authority employed by or serving in a school, the victim is enrolled in or attends that school, and the offender is not enrolled in and does not attend that school.
(2) The victim is a minor, the offender is a… Read more »
See you at training tomorrow Babe ‘
‘Babe I can’t wait ‘ .
‘ I’ve got special sets for you Babe
‘Ohhhh Babe I love training now ‘ .
So you’re telling me that Michael Cwirka and Nick Daddabbo (http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/Meriden/Meriden-News/Meriden-police-investigating-POP-Squad-video.html) were both coaching in the city of Meriden at the same time last year? Such a disgraceful face for the sport in that community.