S. WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – A Parkland School District administrator who secretly recorded a student without his consent has lost his bid to withdraw his guilty plea.<\/p>\n
Francis Anonia, the former director of visual and performing arts at Parkland High School, appeared on the stand Monday, testifying he did not know his appellate rights would be waived as a result of pleading guilty to charges that included invasion of privacy and criminal use of a communication facility.<\/p>\n
The judge said he thinks Anonia was really more concerned about the sentence. He said Anonia is a well-educated man who should’ve known and understood everything the judge was going over with him in the courtroom.<\/p>\n
He was accused of recording video of a student while he changed his clothes in a school dressing room in April 2021.<\/p>\n
In Feb. 2023, Anonia\u2019s cellphone, identified as an iPhone in a case, was seized by Allentown Police in regard to an investigation surrounding his live-in fianc\u00e9 and former student, William Marshall, according to the news release.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n