Cambria Heights School District approves $1.3M settlement with former student in federal suit

Joshua Byers, The Tribune-Democrat, Johnstown, Pa.Tribune-Democrat

PATTON, Pa. – Cambria Heights School District has approved a settlement with a former student who sued the district in federal court after a former teacher was sentenced for having an illegal relationship with her.

The result of the agreement, which was accepted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is the district's insurer paying $1.3 million to the former student.

Former teacher and cross-defendant Isaac B. Vescovi, who entered a guilty plea and was sentenced in April to eight months to two years less a day in prison for the sexual relationship with the former student, has also agreed to pay $20,000 to her.

"The parties have entered into this agreement for the sole and purely practical purposes of resolving all disputes and actions related to the lawsuit and of avoiding the burden, disruption, expense, delay and uncertainties of litigation," the agreement said.

The case of Jane Doe v. Cambria Heights School District was originally filed in June and was moved to mediation in October. The case reached its conclusion in January and has been officially closed, according to court filings.

Cambria Heights has agreed to the payment to cover "damages on account of personal injuries or emotional distress originating from physical injuries" for the former student.

Vescovi's amount is listed in the document as necessary to "compensate (the former student) for her personal physical injuries, physical sickness and/or emotional distress arising out of the sexual abuse she suffered as a minor."

The former teacher's actions against the student were originally reported in October 2024 through a ChildLine hotline report.

Authorities alleged during the subsequent investigation that Vescovi had an on-and-off relationship with a female student in 2023 that led to thousands of messages – some explicit – exchanged between them and inappropriate sexual contact between the two.

He was originally charged with corruption of minors, unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of communications facilities, but those counts were dismissed as a result of his guilty-plea agreement to one count of intercourse or sexual contact with a student.

As a result of his plea and in addition to the prison time, Cambria County Judge Tamara Bernstein ordered Vescovi to register as a sex offender for 25 years with the Pennsylvania State Police and to have no future contact with the victim. He's eligible for parole and work release during his sentence.

According to the settlement, both Vescovi and the district have to pay the former student the amounts owed within 30 days of the signing of the document, which was completed Tuesday.

Cambria Heights board President Kenneth Vescovi, Isaac Vescovi and the former student have all signed the settlement agreement.

The former student has also agreed to release and forever discharge the district, Isaac Vescovi and any other parties moving forward. Isaac Vescovi and the district will act in the same manner toward each other.

The settlement has a clause for the parties to keep the covenant confidential and to not voluntarily disclose information concerning it.

However, that section also notes that the district is a public entity, and not only did the school board have to vote on the agreement at a public meeting, but it also has to disclose the agreement under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.

Additionally, the parties are barred from making private or public statements on the matter in any forum.