A former Patch Elementary School teacher was sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing four of his former students in Germany, according to the Justice Department.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Stefan Zappey sexually abused four of his former elementary school students between 2006 and 2010. At the time, Zappey was a teacher for first through third-grade students at an elementary school in Germany. The school is part of the Department of Defense Education Activity, which serves dependents of U.S. military service members stationed overseas.
In 2020, one of Zappey’s former students notified Army criminal investigators that Zappey touched her under her clothing when she was a student at the school in 2009 and 2010. Other students and faculty members reported that Zappey frequently hugged students, had them sit on his lap, and touched their backs and stomachs under their clothes.
The victim, who was 8 years old at the time, said she did not report the abuse when it occurred because she “didn’t know it was wrong,” court papers said.
The victim, a third grader then, said Zappey called her to his desk during class and repeatedly fondled her, court records stated.
That launched a wider investigation, which uncovered additional victims who gave similar accounts of abuse. Staff members also expressed alarm over Zappey, but it was unclear from court records whether they ever raised their concerns with school leaders.
One faculty member said Zappey “would train students to become ‘touchy-feely,’” court documents stated.
Investigators interviewed four of Zappey’s former students, who reported that he had placed his hand inside their underwear and touched their genitals, the Justice Department statement said.
“Other students and faculty members of Patch Elementary reported that Zappey frequently hugged students, had them sit on his lap, and touched their backs and stomachs under their clothes,” the Justice Department said.
On Jan. 18, a jury convicted Zappey of four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and four counts of abusive sexual contact.
The FBI and Army CID investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leanne M. Marek for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
(Photo courtesy Department of Defense)
