A 49-year-old piano instructor was recently charged with the indecent assault of four male victims who he inappropriately massaged during their lessons.

Timothy James Shay, of Plumstead Township, was arraigned on Feb. 14, 2025, with four counts each of indecent assault of a person less than 13 years old and corruption of minors.

He was sent to Bucks County Correctional Facility by Magisterial District Judge John T. Galloway who set his bail at $1 million, 10 percent.

All the charged offenses occurred more than two decades ago, and investigators strongly believe there may be other victims and are asking for them to please come forward. Anyone with information can contact Middletown Township Detective John Beck at (215) 750-3872.

“We are here yet again to report the arrest of an individual where the allegations involve facts that this individual preyed upon children,” District Attorney Jen Schorn said at a news conference on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. “What’s particularly concerning about this case is the allegations involve abuse that spanned several years and having began over 20 years ago.”  

The youngest victim was just five years old when the abuse occurred, Schorn said.

This joint investigation by the Middletown Township Police Department and the Newtown Township Police Department began in February when police received a report of suspected child sexual abuse that occurred at a residence in Langhorne, Middletown Township.

The victim reported that the sexual abuse happened between the years of 1998 and 2003 when the victim was a juvenile and the defendant was his private piano instructor.

The lessons occurred at the victim’s residence, and the abuse progressed over the years.

It began with the defendant massaging the victim’s wrists, which the defendant described as warmups before piano lessons. The defendant would then massage the victim’s forearms and work his way up his arms and neck.

As time went on, the defendant moved the warmups from the piano bench to a couch, so the defendant could massage more parts of the victim’s body. At one point in the massage, the defendant would have the victim lie down and the defendant would massage the victim’s chest and abdomen, eventually moving lower.

The victim said during his final year or two of piano lessons, the defendant would lift the waistband of the victim’s pants, reach down his pants and massage the victim’s pubic area, just above the genitals. The victim said the inappropriate contact happened between 30 and 50 times.

The victim said he had one lesson a week that lasted 30 minutes, and the warmups took up 15 minutes of that time. The victim told police that the defendant told him to never tell anyone about the warmups.

Detectives spoke to a second victim from Langhorne, Middletown Township, who also had the defendant as a piano instructor between 1998 and 2003 when the victim was a juvenile.

The victim said the defendant massaged him, claiming it would help with playing the piano. During the massage, the defendant would pull up the victim’s elastic waistband and press his abdomen just above his genitals. The skin-to-skin contact happened between three and five times.

A third victim told police he had the defendant as a piano instructor in the late 1990s/early 2000s when the victim was prepubescent. The private lessons happened in Newtown Township.

During the first few lessons, the defendant would massage the victim’s back and during later lessons, he massaged other areas of the victim’s body, including the neck, abdomen and groin. At least 10 times, the defendant had the victim lay on the piano bench and he massaged the victim’s groin over his clothing.

A fourth victim reported being eight years old when he had the defendant as a piano instructor in Newtown Township. The victim told police the defendant would massage the victim’s inner and upper thighs, claiming it would help relieve tension in the area. During the massage, the defendant would have the victim place his hands along his genitals to create a barrier, and the defendant would massage the victim’s groin area up to the barrier.

“We praise all of the victims for disclosing their abuse and we praise the mandated reporter who initially provided the CyberTip to Detective Beck and the work that the law enforcement on this case has done," Schorn said. "That is why Bucks County remains a safe community. We will not abide by sex offenders using our children for their own deviate sexual gratification. It’s the work of the men and women behind me that provides that assurance that we will seek out every predator and hold them accountable.”

Middletown Township Police Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla said the arrest "is an important step forward but our work is not done." 

"If there are any other victims, no matter how long ago these crimes took place or where they occurred, we want to hear from you," he said. "Your voice matters. You will remain anonymous throughout the process and we will do everything in our power to support you and pursue justice on your behalf. Given the pattern of abuse we’ve uncovered, we strongly believe there may be other victims."

This case was investigated by Middletown Township Detective John Beck and Newtown Township Detective Nicholas Moffet and is assigned for prosecution to Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristin M. McElroy and First Assistant District Attorney David E. O’Beirne.

Media Contact: Manuel Gamiz Jr., 215.348.6298, mgamiz@buckscounty.org

Criminal charges are allegations subject to proof in court. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.