A Lehighton Area School District teacher and an area coach has been charged as a result of a three-county sex trafficking investigation, the district said Tuesday.

Michael James Feifel, 55, of Walnutport, was arrested in South Whitehall Township and charged by Lehigh County detectives June 29 with unlawful contact with minor - prostitution and criminal use of a communication facility. Both are felony offenses.

He was arraigned before Lehigh County Magisterial District Judge Karen C. Devine and was released on $1,500 cash bail, 10 percent of the set amount of $15,000.

District Superintendent Christina Fish sent an email to parents Tuesday morning saying Feifel was charged as a result of the investigation in Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Feifel is a social studies teacher in the high school. According to his LinkedIn account he has been employed there since 1996.

Feifel, a part-time sports writer and photographer for the Times News, has coached high school football at several schools in District 11. He has also been involved in a student summer international travel program and recently returned from a trip to Berlin, Prague and Budapest. He was scheduled for a trip to Germany and the Alps in 2024.

In an email to parents Tuesday morning, Fish said, “The district and Mr. Feifel are cooperating with the investigation.”

Fish said Feifel is “currently not involved in any coaching or teaching over the summer break.”

“The district will be assessing his employment status prior to the commencement of the teacher work year in September.”

Fish said student safety is the top priority for the district. “Additionally, the district will be guided in that priority when making its employment determination while preserving the due process rights of the accused teacher.”

He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 26.