Former McKeesport teacher facing multiple sex charges waives preliminary hearing

A former McKeesport Area middle school teacher and youth basketball coach accused of sexually assaulting several boys waived his preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Eric Fairman, 27, of Pleasant Hills was scheduled to go before District Judge Michael W. Thatcher on multiple charges including indecent assault, unlawful contact with minors, corruption of minors and statutory sexual assault.

His defense attorney, Chuck Porter, told news partners WPXI one of the reasons they chose to take their chances in Allegheny County Court was to not have the alleged young victims come and testify that morning.

“It’s a traumatic thing for them to have to come in and testify, and be subject to cross-examination,” Porter told WPXI.

Nearly a dozen youths between 10 and 13 years old claim to have had inappropriate encounters with Fairman.

One boy, identified in court documents as victim number 10, told investigators that he was sexually assaulted at Fairman’s house in the spring of 2021, at an unoccupied house this summer and during a basketball tournament.

The boy said Fairman performed sex acts on him and asked the boy to “send inappropriate things, including showing body parts,” police said.

Fairman also sent pictures of himself to the boy, police said.

Another boy, identified as victim number 11, told investigators that he was 13 when Fairman had inappropriate physical contact with him in a school parking lot in 2017, court documents said.

Police said Fairman gave the boy edible marijuana candies, sent numerous images of his genitals to the boy and offered the boy $200 to perform a sex act on him.

Fairman initially was charged on Sept. 1 with multiple counts of indecent assault, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors and criminal communications in connection with alleged incidents involving at least four boys. He resigned from his teaching position the day before the charges were announced.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski on Sept. 8 denied Fairman’s request to be granted bond and released on electronic home monitoring.