Who Is Olivia Ortz? Wilmington PA Teacher Accused

Olivia Lois Ortz is a 26 year old woman from Hermitage, Pennsylvania. She worked as a teacher at Wilmington Area High School in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. Ortz was the choir director for the school. Police have accused Ortz of having a sexual relationship with a former student who was underaged.

Olivia Ortz Allegations

Ortz Arrested, Accused Of Assault. “Olivia Ortz, 26, of Hermitage is accused of several crimes from an incident involving a 17-year-old girl. According to a criminal complaint, Ortz’s husband, who also works for the school, notified the principal of the relationship. The complaint says he noticed a love letter from the student to his wife after he returned home from a trip to Florida.” [WKBN]

Police: Victim Admitted Involvement With Ortz. “The police investigation included multiple interviews with the victim, who New Wilmington police said, admitted that she was involved in a romantic relationship with Ortiz. Police said the 17-year-old told them she considered Ortiz to be a “safe adult” that she trusted and confided in. The two allegedly communicated both inside and outside the school, according to police.” [WTAE]

Police: Victim Says She Texted With Ortz, Had Sex. “Police say after the two talked and texted each other in and out of school, Mrs. Ortz invited the girl to her home while her husband was away. The teen told investigators that the two snuggled on the couch watching TV, and eventually went into a bedroom and engaged in sex.”” [WFMJ]

Police: Ortz And Teen Used Spotify To Send Messages To Each Other. “They believe that the student and teacher began communicating over Spotify after the confiscation and that code words were established to indicate if the continued communication had been discovered. Over 100 messages were sent over Spotify from May 10-11 until the student’s father confiscated their cellphone.” [WPXI]

Report: Ortz, Teen Used Code Word “Fried Rice.” “”They were communicating by going into a specified playlist under each of their public profiles and leaving messages for each other,” Piccirillo alleges. “They felt nobody would discover that. They came up with a code word in case something happened, or they got discovered.” Piccirillo says the code word they used was “fried rice.”” [People]

Ortz Surrendered To Police. “Ortz was at large throughout the weekend and sang in the Shenango Valley Chorale’s 50th anniversary concert Sunday in downtown Sharon before turning herself in to authorities Monday afternoon. She is the secretary of the chorale organization. Borough police Chief Carmen Piccirillo, who conducted the investigation against Ortz, said she surrendered herself at the advice of her attorney. She was arraigned by District Judge Rick Russo, who committed her to the Lawrence County jail on a $150,000 bond, which she posted.” [NC News]

Police: Teen Told Us She And Ortz Are In Love. “Authorities said they interviewed the teen and her parents again on May 5 after executing a conclusive search warrant. The teen defiantly told them that the pair were still communicating despite looming criminal charges for Ortz and that they are in love.” [NY Post]

School: Ortz Suspended After Allegation, She Then Resigned. “The Wilmington Area School District recently received information concerning an alleged inappropriate relationship between a district high school teacher and student. Upon learning of this situation, the District immediately suspended the teacher, who has since resigned. Additionally, the District reported the allegations to ChildLine, local law enforcement, and PA Department of Education. An investigation ensued under the supervision of the New Wilmington Borough Police with the assistance of the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office. Today we have learned that criminal charges were filed and the former teacher was taken into custody this afternoon.” [Wilmington Area Schools]

Husband Cody Ortz Is Musical Director For School. “Taking the helm as Wilmington Area High School’s musical director, Ortz previously taught band and orchestra and produced shows at public schools in Mercer County as well as eastern Pennsylvania. He currently owns Silverling Virtual Studio, which provides orchestration, composition, production and recording services for film and television. He’s also married to Wilmington’s choir director, Olivia Ortz.” [NC News]

Ortz Is Second Music Teacher In School District To Face Criminal Charges. “Ortz is the second music teacher in the district to face charges. The New Castle News reports that 37-year-old Jonathan Priano was accused of having inappropriate relationships with female students in June 2020.” [CBS]