A former high school history teacher and boys soccer coach from West Branch High School has been sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge filed after investigators say he had sex with a ten-year-old girl.

Matthew A. Thomas, 51, of Austintown, pleaded guilty in Portage County Common Pleas Court in June to one count of sexual imposition, a third-degree misdemeanor.

On Monday, Judge Becky Dougherty sentenced Thomas to two weeks in the Portage County Jail, placed him on probation for two years, and ordered him to undergo a sex offense risk assessment and mental health evaluation.

He must also register as a Tier One Sex Offender.

Online records show that Thomas' teaching license has expired and his pupil activity license has been revoked.

Thomas was indicted in October on two more serious counts of gross sexual imposition, alleging that he had sexual contact with the child during the first week of May 2015.

Portage County Prosecutor Vic  Vigluicci tells 21 News the alleged conduct did not occur in a school. 

State records show that Thomas had been a teacher since 1997. 

 
Matthew Thomas
Matthew Thomas