Alleged victim takes stand in Homewood school sex assault case

A jury trial opened Wednesday for a former Pittsburgh Faison School fourth-grade teacher who authorities allege sexually assaulted a student multiple times when the pair were alone.

Police arrested James Zeigler, 42, of Pittsburgh, last year on six criminal charges — including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, and sexual assault. Zeigler became a vice principal at the Homewood elementary school after serving as a fourth-grade teacher there.

A Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson told TribLive news partner WTAE that Ziegler has been out on administrative leave since Dec. 21, 2022. The spokesperson declined further comment on Wednesday.

The male victim took to the witness stand Wednesday afternoon and described the attacks in detail. He said they took place inside a classroom at the school on Tioga Street.

The boy said he told his mother about the attacks in December 2022. The boy said the attacks had been occurring, at that time, since that August.

“My mom said my brother would be going to Faison and I didn’t want the same thing happening to him,” the victim testified Wednesday.

TribLive does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.

The boy said the attacks occurred when the two were alone. He could not cite specific dates or the number of times the alleged attacks occurred.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Blaine Jones said the prosecution’s case against Ziegler lacks physical evidence to illustrate that a crime took place.

Jones foreshadowed testimony from fourth-grade teacher Phylicia Swain, a peer of Ziegler’s who was the prosecution’s first witness. Swain said she now is in her ninth year of teaching at Pittsburgh Faison.

“In those four months, those 120 days, she never saw anything inappropriate, she never heard anything inappropriate,” Jones said. “(The victim’s) story just doesn’t make sense.”

Jones walked Swain month by month through the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, asking her each time if she saw Ziegler alone with the victim. Swain said Ziegler’s classroom was next to hers.

“Just being transparent, this is almost two years ago,” Swain responded, when asked about October 2022.

“Do I recall seeing them alone together? No,” added Swain, when cross-examined by Ziegler’s attorney.

Assistant District Attorney Tom Kelly also tackled the issue of evidence in his opening.

“This is not a case with DNA, this is not a case with photos,” Kelly said. “A teacher is someone who’s supposed to have a child’s best interests … Mr. Ziegler took advantage of that position of power.”

Jurors are expected to return to Common Pleas Judge Bruce Beemer’s courtroom at 9 a.m. Thursday.