Paul Earle Titter
A School District of Lancaster teacher was suspended Tuesday after he was arrested for allegedly performing a sex act in Long's Park.
Paul Earle Titter, 56, of 2328 Henbird Lane, was suspended with pay from his job as a learning-support teacher at Phoenix Academy after Lancaster city police charged him last week with indecent exposure and open lewdness.
Titter was one of nine men charged following a surveillance detail conducted Nov. 19, 20 and 23 in response to complaints of sexual activity in Long's Park.
According to police, Titter and Larry Richard Ruddle, 67, of Middletown, met in the park, went inside Ruddle's vehicle and performed sex acts on each other.
Ruddle also was charged with indecent exposure and open lewdness.
When the school district learned of the charges against Titter, it began its own investigation, superintendent Pedro Rivera said.
If the district determines Titter's actions violated the school code or district policy, he would be suspended without pay, and a hearing would be held to determine if he should be terminated, Rivera said.
The superintendent said Titter did not have any contact with SDL students after his arrest because the district was on Thanksgiving break until Tuesday.
Titter was suspended, Rivera said, because "we can't have anyone in the district who engages in acts that put kids at risk and the district in jeopardy."
Rivera could not say how long SDL's investigation will take. The probe is being conducted by solicitor Bob Frankhouser and the district's human resources department.
Titter is being represented in the investigation by an attorney from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, according to Frankhouser.
Titter could not be reached for comment.