Ex-Conestoga High School Teacher Admits To Sexually Assaulting Student

TREDYFFRIN, PA — A former Conestoga High School special education teacher pleaded guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a student and providing them marijuana.

Michelle Mercogliano, 36, of Phoenixville, pleaded guilty to two counts of institutional sexual assault and to corruption of minors.

As part of the plea, Mercogliano admitted to having sex with a high school student and giving them weed, according to the Chester County District Attorney's Office.

Mercogliano was charged in April 2025, when authorities said she had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student that began two months prior.

The Tredyffrin-Easttown School District placed her on leave and banned her from school property.

Mercogliano began teaching at Conestoga in the fall of 2024. Before that, she was a teacher at Hillside Elementary from 2019 to 2024 and a paraprofessional at Hillside Elementary and Valley Forge Elementary Schools from 2014 to 2018.

As part of her guilty plea, Mercogliano was sentenced to at least 15 months in Chester County Prison followed by 80 months on probation. She has been determined to be a Tier II Sex Offender.

Before the plea, Mercogliano agreed to forfeit her teaching license. She also can't work with children while on probation.

Mercogliano has been incarcerated at Chester County Prison since May 2025, when she was unable to post bail.

Her listed attorney did not immediately return comment to Patch.