CARLISLE, Pa. — A former mental health counselor at Dickinson College was dismissed from his position after an arrest for felony sex-abuse charges earlier this month.
Theodore Nugin, 45, of Camp Hill, worked as a counselor at Dickinson's Wellness Center before his arrest on August 15, the college confirmed.
"Theodore Nugin was a counselor at the Dickinson Wellness Center," a spokesperson told FOX43. "When the college learned of the criminal charges against him, it immediately placed Mr. Nugin on administrative leave. His employment has since been terminated.
"The charges Mr. Nugin is facing are not related to any Dickinson students or employees, and the college is fully cooperating with authorities."
Nugin was charged by Pennsylvania State Police with unlawful contact with a minor (sexual offenses), statutory sexual assault of a victim 11 years or older, unlawful contact with a minor (sexual abuse of children), corruption of minors, and criminal use of a communication facility.
According to police, Nugin allegedly attempted to set up a sexual encounter with what he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The person he was exchanging messages with was actually an undercover officer with the Department of Homeland Security who was working on an operation with the Berks County Human Trafficking Task Force, police said.
Nugin allegedly exchanged numerous messages with the undercover agent over several months, both in an online chatroom and later through text, police said. Nugin allegedly sent the agent numerous selfie images via text, one of which had a Dickinson College flag in the background, according to police.
Nugin also told the agent he was a "dean of financial aid" at a college close the Harrisburg in one text exchange, police said.
Investigators conducted an open-source search of Dickinson College's website to find photos matching Nugin with the images he sent to the agent and verified he was still employed at the college's Wellness Center, police said.
In numerous text exchanges with the agent, Nugin expressed fear that the agent was "too young" and that continuing to message was "so risky," police said. But the text conversations often turned to sexual topics, where Nugin would allegedly ask the agent to describe her body and to tell him about any sexual experiences she might have had.
The text exchanges lasted from January to July of this year, police claim. During the exchanges, Nugin eventually began requesting that they trade nude images and continued to discuss meeting with the "14-year-old" for sex.
Investigators traced the profile names from Snapchat and Instagram used in exchanges with the agent to Nugin. They also traced IP information provided by Verizon Wireless to an account belonging to him, according to the complaint.
Nugin was arrested on August 14 and arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Christopher Delozier, who set bail at $50,000. He was freed after posting bail through a bondsman, according to court records.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
