A former Bucks County middle school teacher was sentenced Friday for exchanging explicit Facebook videos and photos with one of his students over a series of months.
Joseph Becker, 31, of New Britain Township, was sentenced Friday to 11 1/2 to 23 months in the Bucks County Correctional Facility. He was also placed on five years of concurrent probation.
Becker, a former Pennridge North Middle School mathematics teacher, admitted to carrying on an online sexual relationship with his former student, a 14-year-old girl, said investigators. The relationship began in July 2015 and lasted through December 2015, said the DA. Becker pleaded guilty on June 6 to felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor, disseminating photos or videos of child sex acts, criminal use of a communications facility, corruption of minors and child pornography.
Becker first emailed the girl while she was his student in May, 2015. In July, 2015, Becker began to contact the girl daily on Facebook. The Facebook Messenger messages eventually turned sexual and included photos and video.
Becker, who hails from Chalfont, admitted to not only sending sexual photos and videos to the girl but also receiving sexually-explicit material back.
Investigators said that Becker and the girl also masturbated for each other over Facebook messenger on multiple occasions.
Becker taught eighth grade math, according to the school’s website. Police arrested him at the school in December of 2015. School officials said they weren't aware of Becker's actions until his arrest. He was fired from the school and will never be able to work as a teacher again.
The victim and her parents did not attend Friday's sentencing. Deputy District Attorney Chelsey Jackman read a statement from the girl's mother at the family's request.
“It is my job as a mother to protect her and for the longest time I felt like I failed her. Just like my daughter had to learn that she did not ruin Mr. Becker’s life, that he ruined his own life, I have had to learn that I did not fail as a mother,” she wrote. “I have had to tell myself that this man is manipulative and calculative and would have found a way to pursue my daughter no matter how hard I tried to protect her.”
The mother also wrote that she was offended by Becker's explanation during a court hearing that he was a "good man who made a mistake."
“A good man does not seek out a child…A good man does not tell a child it is ok to send photos because he is married and won’t share them. A good man does not try to seek sexual gratification from a child,” the mother wrote. “These are not things good men do. This wasn’t a mistake Mr. Becker made, this was a choice.”
Becker, who is married and has two young daughters, blamed his actions on emotional problems and marital issues. He claimed he was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder since his arrest and has undergone therapy to deal with his issues and repair his marriage. A state sexual offenders evaluation board did not recommend Becker be declared a sexually violent predator and stated he is unlikely to re-offend, according to officials.
"[The victim] should not feel responsible for any of this," Becker said. "I was wrong and no one else."
In addition to the sentencing and probation, a Bucks County judge also ordered Becker to continue with his mental health treatment, have no contact with the victim or her family and to have no unsupervised contact with any girls under the age of 18 outside of his own family.
