SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — A preliminary hearing for a former Parkland Schools administrator accused of secretly recording a student in a dressing room has been rescheduled to Nov. 26.
Frank Anonia, 43, of Allentown, is free on bail pending the hearing before District Judge Jacob Hammond.
A Parkland teacher since 2007, Anonia resigned from his job as the Parkland School District’s performing and visual arts director in June.
Anonia was ordered to Lehigh County Prison following his arrest and arraignment Oct. 15 on several charges. He posted a $50,000 bond as bail later that day, according to court records.
The preliminary hearing originally was scheduled Monday, but as is typical in criminal cases, was continued to a later date.
Authorities said Anonia in 2021 recorded five videos with a phone hidden on a shelf in the Parkland High School auditorium boys’ changing room.
The videos discovered on Anonia’s phone were recorded without the consent of a student shown undressing in the videos, police said.
They were recorded in April that year during practices and dress rehearsals for the school musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” according to court records.
Police said they also recovered from Anonia’s phone screen shots of the student in different stages of undress, taken from the videos and placed in separate files.
Lehigh County detectives said the investigation began in April after Anonia was alleged to have had inappropriate contact with a boy involved in the high school's 2022 musical. The charges do not relate to 2022.
Detectives began investigating that complaint, which was made by a high school teacher after the student made allegations, according to court records.
They discovered the videos on Anonia's phone from 2021 as the investigation progressed, according to a criminal complaint.