Kevin B. Johnson

An assistant instructor in the Junior ROTC program at Seneca Valley Senior High School has been charged with sexually abusing two boys enrolled in the program.

Kevin B. Johnson, of Portersville, faces 58 counts ranging from involuntary deviate sexual intercourse to intimidation of a witness.

He was arraigned on the charges last night before District Judge Pete Shaffer and sent to Butler County Jail. His bail was set at $50,000.

He faces a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Mr. Johnson has been suspended without pay from teaching in the ROTC program and barred from the Seneca Valley campus since Jan. 10, according to Jackson Police Chief Len Keller. That was the day that the mother of one of the teenaged boys in the program told school officials her son had been assaulted.

Mr. Johnson, 50, is a retired command sergeant major who served 23 years on active Army duty. He is married with two children.

He had served as an assistant instructor in the ROTC program, which is headed by Lt. Col. Susan Oliver, since August 2003. His salary was paid by the Department of Defense and the school district.

All 49 students enrolled in the Junior ROTC program had been interviewed, officials said. Counseling has been offered to them, and it is available to any other students.

The incidents with which Mr. Johnson is charged happened between August 2004 and Jan. 4, 2008, according to Chief Keller.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.