The former Head Percussion Instructor for the Souderton Area High School Marching Band has been arrested after a former student came forward alleging they had been sexually assaulted by the instructor in 2008.
Perry Boucher, 49, of Bethlehem, has been charged with one felony count of endangering the welfare of children and one misdemeanor count of corruption of minors, in connection with a 22-month investigation by the Souderton Borough Police Department. Boucher is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash bail.
The investigation began in September 2021 after a former female student contacted police alleging they had been sexually assaulted by Boucher during the 2008-2009 school year at the old Souderton Area High School on North School Lane. Boucher worked for the district as a part-time instructor from sometime prior to 2002 through 2012, police said.
The former student said they had met Boucher through band practice in 2007, when Boucher noted she seemed distracted and offered his friendship and said he could be a good listener, according to charging documents. The student began to talk to Boucher about her personal problems, and he began providing her gifts including clothing, a necklace, an iPod and a cell phone, police said.
Boucher continued to communicate with the student via text and through MySpace, and while the initial conversations were described as professional by police, they eventually evolved into more personal and sexual discussions, investigators said. Messages from Boucher became constant throughout the day and became controlling in nature, along with guilty trips when the student wouldn’t immediately respond, according to the criminal complaint.
By the school year beginning 2008, the relationship became physical, police said, with Boucher sexually assaulting the girl — who was still a juvenile at the time — at least twice in a janitor’s closet, according to the complaint.
Police also allege that Boucher gave the teen four or five oxycodone pills when she mentioned she had a headache, which she forced herself to throw up after learning what they were.
Court records show charges were filed against Boucher on June 14, and he was subsequently arraigned on June 22, at which point he was remanded to county jail after failing to post bail. He is currently waiting for his preliminary hearing to be scheduled.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Carney.
North Penn Now reached out to Souderton Borough Police for additional information and to ascertain why sexual assault charges weren’t filed. In response, investigators said the institutional sexual assault statute — which they said could have applied in this investigation — was not enacted until 2012, and they cannot retroactively charge under the statute.
In response to a request for comment from North Penn Now, Souderton Area School District Superintendent Frank T. Gallagher said he could only confirm that Boucher worked as a part-time employee with the band program from 2002 through 2012, adding there was no record of any such complaints while he was an employee with the district.
An online search shows a student-launched petition to retain Boucher after his contract with the Souderton Area School District was not renewed in 2012. Boucher also appears to have gone on to hold some type of marching band instructor roles with several other high schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties, however we are waiting for confirmation of employment records prior to releasing that information.
Boucher is being represented by Scott M. Wilhelm, Esq., of the Winegar, Wilhelm, Glynn and Roemersma law firm. When reached for comment, Wilhelm stated that Boucher is innocent until proven guilty by the Commonwealth, and his firm is "investigating the veracity of these old charges.”
A further search of court records show Boucher was arrested in Bethlehem in August 2022 on charges of possession of child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. Boucher is being represented by George Heitczman, Esq., in that case, which has a status conference scheduled for Aug. 21 at the Lehigh County Courthouse.
North Penn Now will follow up on that case once we have received the criminal complaint from the local district court.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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