Teacher accused of sex assault, trying to hypnotize girls

James William Mentzer has been charged with institutional sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor, indecent assault, and corruption of minors

A third-grade teacher is accused of sexually assaulting a girl at a Pennsylvania elementary school and police say he tried to hypnotize others and make them vow to obey him.

James Mentzer, of Hummelstown, was charged Thursday with institutional sexual assault, indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor and five counts of corruption of minors. 

Police began investigating him in February, and Mentzer was put on leave from East Hanover Elementary School.

Mentzer was a 3rd grade teacher at the school at the time of the alleged offenses, according to police. The alleged offenses occurred over several months between September 2017 and February 2018.

Police say Mentzer requested each girl – ranging in age from 8 to 11 -come to his classroom to record videos for an alleged project.

Police say Mentzer videotaped them reading and attempted to hypnotize them.

During their investigation, police determined that Mentzer would pull the students from other classrooms when those classes were being monitored by substitute teachers.

He would reportedly have them recite an ‘oath’ in which they were instructed to call Mentzer ‘Master’ and say they would obey him, police say. Mentzer reportedly referred to his conduct as being part of a ‘master plan.’ 

One victim told police he made her repeat the phrase ‘I will obey you, Master’ as he swung a necklace in front of her eyes.

Mentzer reportedly recorded the students with a classroom iPad or laptop computer while having them read

Mentzer reportedly recorded the students with a classroom iPad or laptop computer while having them read

One of the victims told police that in January 2018, Mentzer stopped her in a hallway while she was on her way to recess and requested her to help him iwth something in the classroom.

While the pair were alone, he asked her to read passages about ‘communities’ from a packet and recorded the interaction on his computer. 

Mentzer told her to act out the words she was reading with a giraffe puppet, and would get angry and yell when she did not read as the giraffe according to Fox 43.

Mentzer also rubbed the victim’s leg, from her knee to her groin area, ignoring her requests to stop, the victim told police.

A second victim told police a similar account, saying Mentzer pulled her from another classroom to his empty classroom, telling the other teacher he wanted her help with a project. 

This time, Mentzer asked the victim to read about ‘communities’ and act with a pig puppet on her hand. Once again, the interaction was also recorded on a computer, according to the victim.

A third victim reported that Mentzer instructed her to repeat the phrases ‘I will obey you, Master’ and ‘I will obey your commands, Master’ while the two were alone in his classroom. Again the interaction was recorded.

Mentzer swung a necklace in front of her eyes, instructing her to follow its movement. He also allegedly gave the victim a crown to wear and a wand and stuffed animal to hold in her hands, the victim said.

The school district released a statement Thursday. It reads:

Lower Dauphin School District placed East Hanover Elementary School teacher James Mentzer on administrative leave when allegations of misconduct were brought to the school’s attention. At the same time, the district immediately contacted appropriate legal authorities.

These actions occurred in February 2018. Mr. Mentzer remains on leave pending the outcome of legal proceedings against him. Should the outcome of those proceedings meet the standards contained within the School Code, or should Mr. Mentzer no longer possess the credentials of a professional educator, the District will take appropriate actions to address his employment with the District, up to and including termination as may be required by law. Mr. Mentzer has been an elementary school teacher with Lower Dauphin full-time since 2003.



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