A Lehighton Area School District social studies teacher who serves as 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 listed as third-degree felony offenses.

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

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office, a multi-jurisdictional human trafficking operation was held in South Whitehall Township area on June 29 to combat sex trafficking in which several ads were posted on popular sex websites.

In one of those ads, a Homeland Security Task Force Officer operating in an undercover capacity posted an ad that she was working with another female.

Feifel responded to the ad, court papers say. The agent posed as a 17-year-old girl working with a 14-year-old girl.

Feifel said he was willing to meet the 17-year-old girl and specific sex acts and prices were agreed upon, according to court papers.

During the conversation, Feifel said he wanted to come to the location to engage in these sex acts, so the agents provided him with a South Whitehall Township location, officials said.

When he arrived, court papers say he parked his vehicle, went to a building’s vestibule where he was taken into custody.

He was taken back to South Whitehall Township Police Department for an interview.

Officials said Feifel had the money for the agreed upon sex acts and his cellphone. Police confirmed it was the same cellphone used to make arrangements for the meeting.

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

In the email to parents Tuesday morning Fish said, “The district will be assessing his employment status before the commencement of the teacher work year in September.”

Feifel, a part-time sports writer and photographer for the Times News, has served as an high school football coach at several schools in District 11, including Lehighton, Northern Lehigh, Salisbury, Southern Lehigh, Allentown Central Catholic and Northampton.

He has also been involved in a student summer international travel program and recently returned from a trip to Berlin, Prague and Budapest. A trip to Germany and the Alps is scheduled in 2024.

According to his LinkedIn account he has been employed with the district since 1996.

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

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.”

Departments participating in the sex trafficking sting were Homeland Security Investigations, Lehigh County Drug Task Force and human trafficking task forces from Lehigh, Northampton and Berks counties.

Feifel is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 26.