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Lawyer for Plum teacher accused of sex with student says girl 'instigated' it

PITTSBURGH — A Plum High School teacher accused of having sex with a student waived his right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Michael Cinefra was charged in connection with the molestation of a 15-year-old student over the course of several years. Police said at times, the pair met up inside the high school.

The girl has since graduated.

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Cinefra was a substitute teacher and baseball coach.

According to the criminal complaint, Cinefra would tell the victim when he was substituting at the school and for which teacher, and she met him approximately 10 times in various classrooms.

"I don't think there's any question that this young lady is the one who instigated it, for lack of a better word,” defense attorney Pat Thomassey said after Wednesday's hearing.

“Although that's not an excuse in defense, I just think there's a lot of mitigating factors in this case relative to my client and we'll sort it out down the road."

Cinefra is the fourth teacher at the school to face criminal charges.

"There's a lot of facts no know knows about relative to this relationship," Thomassey said.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala said his arrest was unrelated to the earlier arrests of 40-year-old Joseph Ruggieri and 38-year-old Jason Cooper.

Witness intimidation charges were also filed against 40-year-old teacher Drew Zoldak, who is accused of having singled out in class a student who had accused Ruggieri.

Channel 11's Aaron Martin will have more from Cinefra's attorney tonight on Channel 11 News starting at 5.

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