Connecticut teacher arrested after being found with teen he met on dating app

TRUMBULL (WABC) -- Police arrested a seventh grade teacher from Connecticut after allegedly finding him parked in his car in a secluded area with a minor.

Authorities say 37-year-old Timothy Leonard, of Southbury, who teaches at a school in Wilton and is also a professor at Sacred Heart University, met the 14-year-old boy from Trumbull through an online dating app.

While speaking to the pair, prosecutors say it was determined the two engaged in intimate contact.

Leonard denied knowing the child's age, saying he believed the boy was 18 and that he would not have gotten involved with him if he had known he was only 14.

Leonard has been charged with risk of injury to a minor and fourth-degree sexual assault. He posted a $10,000 bond.

Officials at Sacred Heart University said Leonard, a part-time adjunct instructor of graduate students, was suspended immediately.