Child sex charge hits veteran state trooper

By PAT CAMUSO

BLOOMING GROVE — Following a lengthy internal affairs investigation, a Pennsylvania State Police supervisor in Pike County is now facing a corruption of minors charge.

According to the state police Bureau of Professional Responsibility in Harrisburg, 45-year-old Lance Zegien of Tafton stands accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student at Wallenpaupack High School between August 2000 and April 2001. The student’s name is being withheld.

Investigators say they have documentation showing the illicit affair took place at various times on Zegien’s Baja racing boat on Lake Wallenpaupack, in Zegien’s home and at an ice cream shop where the minor girl is employed. All of the alleged incidents took place in Palmyra Township.

According to the criminal complaint, on at least two occasions, Zegien also used a digital camera to photograph the teen on his bed while posing in sexually explicit positions. Zegien allegedly stored these images on his personal computer.

The state Attorney General’s Office filed charges against Zegien, a patrol unit supervisor and a 16-year state police veteran, on May 15. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police in Blooming Grove said that Zegien is now suspended without pay pending the disposition of the criminal charges.

A preliminary hearing date has been set for June 11 in front of District Magistrate William Sanquilly in Hawley, with representatives from the Attorney General’s office prosecuting.

Investigators from the sate police Internal Affairs Division are asking anyone with information to contact them in Harrisburg at 717/657-4200.