WILKES-BARRE — A former Pittston Area High School teacher pleaded guilty Thursday to charges she carried on a clandestine relationship with a 17-year-old female student that allegedly progressed from texting and restaurant dates to touching when the girl’s guardian was away on vacation.

Colleen T. McGarry, 46, of Pittston, faced charges of institutional sexual assault, corruption of minors and furnishing alcohol to minors for the romance with a student from her calculus class that investigators say began in 2015.

The ex-teacher, a fixture at the high school both in academics and athletics since her hiring in 1997, shed tears as she stood before a judge and pleaded guilty to all three counts. She faces up to 15 years behind bars at sentencing July 10 and must register as a sex offender for 25 years, prosecutors said.

McGarry’s career at the high school came to a close with her firing in May, nearly three months after the county district attorney’s office got a tip that students had seen her at restaurants with the victim and read text messages between the two, according to the affidavit.

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Confronted by investigators, McGarry allegedly said she didn’t believe “it was much of a big deal to be taking out a kid.” She noted members of school clubs are often take out to eat, and opined that the lines between students and teachers are muddied by the prevalence of technology.

McGarry said she took the victim “under my wing a little bit” because the victim grew up in a single-parent household and didn’t have much of a home life, the affidavit says. Their relationship took a more personal turn in 2015 when the student began confiding in her.

The two began texting and talking through social media, and a physical relationship began after the student confessed her feelings for McGarry while they were alone in a parked car around December 2015, the affidavit says. McGarry told investigators she turned down a kiss from the victim on that occasion, but said the two kissed multiple times after.

While the girl’s guardian was on vacation in January 2016, McGarry slept over her house.

“There was touching and some clothes came off,” McGarry said, according to the affidavit.

In a separate interview with investigators, the victim said she confided in McGarry about her sexual orientation and the two often discussed prior sexual relationships. She and McGarry would kiss every time they saw one another, but the extent of their physical relationship stopped short of penetration, the affidavit says.

The victim told investigators McGarry provided alcohol for a party attended by students.

State department of education records show McGarry surrendered her teaching license in November.

Her hiring drew criticism after she received a full-time teaching job the day she received her degree from Wilkes University. McGarry, then 26, was selected over several district substitutes on a 6-3 vote by the school board.

A resume provided to the Times Leader at the time indicated McGarry was a tutor at South Scranton Intermediate School and the varsity basketball coach for North Pocono High School prior to her hire.

A former Seton Catholic and Wilkes University basketball standout, McGarry was named head girls basketball coach at Pittston Area in 1998. She led the team for nearly 20 years until she was replaced in 2006. She resigned as coach of the girls softball team in 2012.

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Former Pittston Area teacher Colleen McGarry is led into a judge’s office last year following her arrest on corruption of minors and sexual contact with a student charges.
http://www.psdispatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_McGarry-2.jpg.optimal.jpgFormer Pittston Area teacher Colleen McGarry is led into a judge’s office last year following her arrest on corruption of minors and sexual contact with a student charges. Aimee Dilger | Times Leader file

By Joe Dolinsky

jdolinsky@timesleader.com

Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL