Matthew Gagat was convicted of disorderly conduct after a short trial Monday at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown. Read more TYGER WILLIAMS / Staff Photographer

by Vinny Vella Published Aug. 11, 2025, 4:38 p.m. ET

A former fifth-grade teacher at a Haverford Township elementary school was sentenced to one of year of probation after a one-day trial Monday for masturbating at a Bucks County park last summer.

Matthew Gagat, of Horsham, 48, was convicted of disorderly conduct for an incident on June 27, 2024 in which a woman sitting on a bench in Sellersville’s Lenape Park told police she saw him “touching himself.” Gagat was acquitted of open lewdness, the more serious charge that he faced.

After the verdict was announced, his attorney, Lonny Fish, said he felt the

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