S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – A Parkland School District administrator accused of secretly recording a student without his consent has pleaded guilty.

Francis Anonia, former director of visual and performing arts at Parkland High School, entered the guilty plea Monday morning.

Anonia was taken away in handcuffs following Monday’s guilty plea. 

Judge Robert L. Steinberg ordered Anonia’s bail revoked, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Monday.

His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 12, 2026.

“The victim has been cooperative throughout our investigation and certainly he was notified of the recordings prior to us filing charges.  He was prepared to testify if needed at trial this week and he was notified last week when we were informed that it would be a guilty plea,” said Sara Moyer, Lehigh County Chief Deputy District Attorney.

The DA’s office said Anonia faces a possible sentence of 44 to 88 years in state prison and will be required to register as a sex offender for at least the next 15 years. An evaluation will be done to determine if Anonia must register for the rest of his life, according to the news release.

He was charged in October 2024 with five counts each of Intercept Communications and Criminal Use of a Communication Facility, all felonies; as well as nine misdemeanor counts of Invasion of Privacy, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said.

His defense attorney, Richard Coble, spoke with us following Monday morning’s guilty plea.

“Mr. Anonia alleged a constitutional violation which we still believe occurred in the case. A motion was filed. The judge decided against that motion. Given that information, Mr. Anonia decided to enter a guilty plea in accordance with what he was charged with, but also in seeking a sentence as appropriate and fits the actual guidelines he is facing currently which the state offer did not match,” Coble said.

“The Commonwealth is seeking a state sentence in this case. The defendant decided to plead open. His bail was revoked today, and we think a state sentence is appropriate and necessary in this case,” said Moyer.

Officials say Anonia had filed a motion to suppress evidence seized through the search of his cellphone.

On Nov. 21, Judge Robert L. Steinberg ruled that Anonia’s motion to suppress and exclude physical evidence (from his cellphone) was denied, according to a news release from the Court of Common Pleas of Lehigh County.

He allegedly recorded video of a student while he changed his clothes in a school dressing room in April 2021.

On April 2, 2024, an investigation began into a complaint made by a Childline referral request about Anonia during his time at the Parkland School District, the DA’s office said.

In Feb. 2023, Anonia’s cellphone, identified as an iPhone in a case, was seized by Allentown Police in regard to an investigation surrounding his live-in fiancé and former student, Willliam Marshall, according to the news release.

Following a subsequent news release from Parkland School District, a number of former students and teachers came forward to report inappropriate behavior by Anonia.