The former performing arts director for the Parkland School District, charged with secretly recording a student during high school theater rehearsals and performances in 2021, will face trial in December.
Francis Anonia, 44, of Allentown, resigned from the district in June 2024 after Childline complaints and other misconduct reports were filed that April. In October 2024 Anonia was charged with multiple counts of invasion of privacy, criminal use of a communication facility and other offenses.
A Monday hearing heard testimony as to whether evidence seized from Anonia’s cellphone can be considered during his trial.
Anonia’s cellphone had been seized by police in February 2023 as part of an investigation into his live-in fiance and former student, William Marshall, the Lehigh County district attorney’s office said in a news release. Marshall pled guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material and was sentenced to 11 ½ to 23 months in the Lehigh County jail.
Anonia’s cellphone was not analyzed during the earlier investigation and he did not request its return, the district attorney’s office said. Police maintained possession of the phone and Anonia agreed to abandon it during an April 2024 interview with Lehigh County detectives, the office said.
Childline referrals received in April 2024, along with numerous reports from former students and teachers, led to a May 2024 search warrant that granted investigators access to Anonia’s phone, the district attorney’s office said. Videos and pictures discovered at that time led to the current charges.
Former Parkland School District administrator and music instructor Frank Anonia in 2014. (Morning Call file photo)
During a Monday hearing, a judge heard testimony from Lehigh County District Attorney Detective Gregg Dietz regarding the cell phone evidence that Anonia had filed a motion to suppress.
“On cross-examination, defense counsel elicited testimony from Detective Dietz detailing former students’ reports of Anonia’s inappropriate behavior over more than a decade, including acts that occurred in other countries and Anonia’s alleged failure to report sexual abuse he witnessed involving a third party who was ultimately tried and convicted in another county,” the district attorney’s office news release said.
The judge instructed attorneys to file briefs about the cellphone seizure and scheduled Anonia’s trial for Dec. 1.
Originally Published: October 14, 2025 at 2:21 PM EDT