Rogie Legaspi | Photo via Facebook
BALTIMORE, Md. — A Filipino American seventh‑grade science teacher who was initially reported missing has been arrested in Pennsylvania on more than 50 charges connected to the alleged sexual abuse and trafficking of a teenage boy, according to Pennsylvania court records and charging documents. Rogie Bantigue Legaspi, 56, a teacher at Hamilton Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore, was taken into custody after a two‑year pattern of alleged abuse surfaced through an investigation involving multiple agencies.
Arrest Followed Community Search Efforts
Legaspi’s arrest became known in Baltimore only after parents and school community members mobilized to search for him, believing he had gone missing. A missing‑person notice circulated after he was last seen leaving school on Friday, prompting families to print flyers and organize search efforts.
Parent Elizabeth Cook told The Baltimore Banner she left work Monday to help distribute flyers. Still, before she could, messages began circulating that Legaspi had been located in Pennsylvania and that his family wanted the search to stop. Cook later checked Pennsylvania court records and discovered he had been arrested.
Charges Detail Two Years of Alleged Abuse
Legaspi faces charges including trafficking individuals, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, statutory sexual assault, sexual abuse of children, corruption of minors, exploitation, unlawful contact with a minor, and criminal use of a communication facility.
Charging documents cited by The Banner allege Legaspi met the boy through social media when the child was 12 and began sexually abusing him at age 13. Authorities say he traveled from Baltimore to Pennsylvania about twice a month to meet the teen, with encounters allegedly occurring in his vehicle and at hotels.
Investigators also allege Legaspi recorded sexual encounters, paid the teen money, and on one occasion brought another man to a hotel to sexually abuse him.
School District Responds; No Known Victims in Baltimore Schools
Baltimore City Public Schools placed Legaspi on leave following his arrest. In a letter to families, Hamilton Principal Natasha Pouncey said officials had not received information indicating that the case involved any current or former Baltimore City Public Schools students. Families with concerns were urged to contact school police.
Legaspi has worked for the district since 2008, beginning at Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy before moving to Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy and later Hamilton Elementary/Middle School in 2014. He was named Teacher of the Year at the 2016 NABSE Conference.
Decades-Long Career in Filipino Teaching Community
Legaspi has longstanding ties to Filipino educators in the United States. He first came to the U.S. through an international teacher recruitment company in 1992, taught in Texas, returned to the Philippines, and later came back to the U.S. in 2008. In 2012, he received an Ulirang Guro Award, which honors outstanding Filipino educators in America.
