An Albert Gallatin High School teacher is jailed without bond after Pennsylvania State Police arrested him in an undercover sting targeting internet crimes against children, the Fayette County district attorney's office said. A second man was arrested the same day after a search of his home turned up child sexual abuse material, guns and narcotics.
The Undercover Operation
Lester Eugene Everly II, 47, a teacher at Albert Gallatin High School, is accused of arranging to pay for sex with someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl, according to Fayette County District Attorney Michael Aubele. Authorities said Everly believed the girl was being trafficked by another adult.
The arrest came out of an undercover operation run by the Pennsylvania State Police Uniontown Criminal Investigation Unit and the PSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation Computer Crime Unit. According to a criminal complaint, Everly contacted the computer crime unit — which was posing as a man trafficking his girlfriend's daughter — and paid $170 for a meet-up with a 15-year-old. State troopers arrested him in South Union Township when he arrived at the meeting place. Police said he confessed to bringing a condom and $180 with him.
Everly is charged with unlawful contact with a minor, trafficking in persons and statutory sexual assault.
A Second Arrest the Same Day
In a separate case, police arrested Eric Lee Harris on charges involving the possession of child pornography. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators said they found multiple electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material inside Harris's home, along with guns in plain view. Harris, who authorities said is prohibited from possessing firearms, faces charges of sexual abuse of children as well as drug and gun charges.
Jailed Without Bond
Both men are being held at the Fayette County Prison. Their preliminary hearings are scheduled for Nov. 23.
Photo: The Fayette County Courthouse in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. USDA photo by Calvin Beale, public domain via Wikimedia Commons; no changes made. This photo does not show the incident scene.
