A Northampton County judge has sentenced a former Bethlehem police officer to 10-20 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and taking an “upskirt” video of another girl, who was 11.
Costas N. Alestas, 44, of Palmer Township must also serve up to four years probation on charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and invasion of privacy, according to a news release from Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta.
Judge Samuel P. Murray also required Alestas to be registered as a sexually violent predator under Megan’s Law for the rest of his life.
Alestas was charged in May 2024 after Bethlehem Area School District, where he worked as a school resource officer at East Hills Middle School, told Bethlehem police about incidents with the 14-year-old. The teenager met Alestas while she was a student there, and he gave her his phone number so they could talk outside school, according to authorities.
Police said the two met in his office, where he touched her. During a school event, they met in a concealed area and he sexually assaulted her while in full uniform. Additionally, he assaulted her in his car on two occasions.
Alestas also had secret meetings with her away from school, and would drop her off near her home so she would not be seen, police said.
Investigators who searched Alestas’ cellphone found the video of an 11-year-old student taken at school, according to court documents.
Alestas was fired shortly after charges were announced. He had been a school resource officer for six years, and also coached the school’s co-ed soccer team.
A delay in sentencing stemmed in part from Alestas’ filing a motion in September to withdraw a guilty plea on the charges, after he pleaded guilty in April. Murray in November denied Alestas’ motion for withdrawal.