Parents speak out after 20 Chester Community Charter School workers charged in child abuse case
20 Chester Community Charter School workers have been charged in connection with a child abuse case.
Authorities say as many as 26 children, from kindergartners to fifth graders, were victims of the alleged abuse.
Parents are speaking out as the investigation unfolds.
The Delaware County District Attorney is charging 20 people with abuse-related crimes after an investigation showed widespread "systemic abuse" at the Chester Community Charter School in Chester Township.
The investigation was launched after parents complained that their children feared being placed in 'holds' by school staff.
What they're saying
"My children came to me on several occasions about what was going on with the school where I took pictures of my children's bruises" said parent Saabriah W., who did not want to give her last name.
This Chester mother didn't have to read the 84-page criminal complaint below to know what happened to her son.
Click to open this PDF in a new window.
He's listed as one of the 26 victims of abuse who were students at the school's West Campus.
She says it was so bad two weeks ago she pulled all of her children out of the school.
"If I can't see what is going on inside the school now these accusations have been out I want to make sure my children are safe. And this is a way for me to keep my children safe," said Saabriah W.
"You can see them grabbing their hands putting them in front of them to restrain them. Often times you see them using their knew to take them to the ground" said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteheimer.
Dig deeper
Investigators say surveillance footage in late 2024 showed over 100 incidents of workers at the school abusing children in the K-5 (TAAS) program for students who need emotional support.
The 'techniques' used by those nine workers allegedly included the following:
Pinching
Pressure points near their necks
Holding children in restraints
Threatening with 'shoulder work'
Authorities say more than 100 incidents of abuse and behaviors were captured on surveillance cameras. Several of the workers accused of abuse were found to have been employees of a company called 'Peak Performers Staffing, LLC which had been co-founded by Jennifer Woodhouse and Emmanuel Gilbert, both of Chester.
Investigators say Woodhouse assured them her staff was trained in safety-care techniques, but investigators later learned that none of the staff had up-to-date and required training.
Nine of the school workers are charged with multiple counts, which include conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child.
Raymond Harris
Kabree Daniels
Christian Denny
Martin Mincey, Jr.
Harry Woodhouse, Jr
Amaru Mohammed
Leroy Campbell
Adrian Hospedale
Monica Griffin
Eleven others were charged with at least one count of failure to report the endangerment of the welfare of a child.
Daemon Pierce
Don'Neisah King Pierce
Arijah Clements
Cyrus Barlee
Neanne Edmonds
Breshonna Belgrave
Deja Bennett-Allen
Ryan Ridley
Maggie Moloney
Dahkeem Williams
Asia Pena
Officials say all the defendants are classified as mandated reporters of incidents of suspected child abuse under Pennsylvania Law.
"This case is every parents' nightmare. We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally." said District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. "Our investigation showed some staffers physically abusing children while others sat passively and watched. All the adults charged are equally guilty in failing to protect these children, some as young as 5 years old." Stollsteimer continued.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Chester Community Charter School indicated that three school employees were charged with failing to report the alleged conduct. The rest were 'employees of a certified contractor formerly associated with the school."
"As soon as school administrators learned that there was any possible violation of approved methods, it took swift and decisive action to terminate the contractor. CCCS employees who are alleged to have carried out such practices were also promptly terminated at that time, and any employees who might have had knowledge of the situation were placed on leave, pending further investigation. CCCS has been completely cooperative with local authorities," a statement from the school read in part.
In a press release issued by the DA's office, investigators say school officials confirmed that any use of a 'safety hold' must be reported under state guidelines. School officials confirmed to investigators that no holds were reported by the school during 2024, when many of the abuses were alleged to have taken place.
CCCS sent FOX 29 a press release which breaks down the school's association with Peak Performers Staffing Solutions.
"CCCS relied on Peak Performers Staffing Solutions, a local vendor that represented itself as expert in the field of classroom management and behavior improvement practices, only to find that Peak Performers employees had not completed necessary training, did not have proper knowledge in their field, and were completely unqualified to manage children," the statement begins.
CCCS leaders say they will pursue all necessary legal action against Peak Performer amid the allegations.
"CCCS believes Peak Performers must be held accountable so that it can never victimize other students, teachers or schools," the statement ended.
What's next
FOX 29 tried to reach out to Peak Partners Staffing.
So far we have not received a statement.
Several of those charged have turned themselves into police.
The Source
The information in this story is from Chester Community Charter School parents, the Delaware County District Attorney and Chester Township police.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Twenty staffers charged after 100 abuse incidents at Philadelphia-area charter school
Twenty members of staff have been charged following roughly a hundred abuse incidents at a Philadelphia charter school, according to prosecutors. Surveillance footage captured the incidents at Chester Community Charter School's West Campus in November and December, the Chester Township Police Department said in court documents. The district attorney's office said 26 victims were involved in grades K-5 and were part of the school's emotional support program, with some of the victims just 5 years old. Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Monday that he watched the surveillance footage. 'There are nine individuals who have surveillance video that I've watched putting their hands on children, some as young as 5,' he said, according to NBC News. 'Oftentimes, you can see them using their knee to take a child to the ground.' The district attorney said the formal charges were filed Monday morning. Police filed the initial charges in state court on March 25 after the families of two students separately shared their concerns with the school on January 9 and 10, court documents reveal. One parent, who is not named, said their son, aged 7, was scared to go to school because two members of staff had employed physical holds on children in a 'positive support room' on the campus, which was part of a school program known as Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success, a police affidavit stated. The affidavit noted that the relatives of another 7-year-old boy came forward the following day with similar concerns. Investigators revealed that they found that members of staff had used 'shoulder work' such as pinching pressure points on the neck, and putting children in holds with their arms crossed in front of them, as well as pushing knees into children's backs, according to the affidavit. Nine defendants face allegations of having had physical contact with children, and were charged with conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child, according to the DA's office. Eleven defendants were charged with failing to report the alleged incidents. The school said in a statement that three of those charged with failure to report are school staffers who have been placed on leave. Chester Township Police Chief Kenneth Coalson said in a statement: 'I am proud that today we are holding the support staff, teachers, and even a dean of students accountable for abusing or failing to report the abuse of vulnerable children.' The dean of students is listed as Dahkeem Williams, whose lawyer told NBC Philadelphia: 'We take great exception to the district attorney's statement that 'all the adults charged are equally guilty in failing to protect these children.'' Stollsteimer said: 'This is just unacceptable behavior to happen anywhere, but particularly in a school setting for children who are supposed to be getting emotional support.' According to the district attorney, most of the defendants work for a contractor called Peak Performers Staffing LLC. The Chester Community Charter School has said that it has ended its relationship with the company. In a statement, the school said 17 of those charged work for the company. The school said it was told that company staff were trained in physical contact with students, but that they subsequently found out that that wasn't the case, saying it had been 'duped.' The school said it 'plans to pursue all appropriate legal recourse against Peak Performers for the reckless and dangerous manner in which it operated,' according to NBC News. It added that school 'leaders are outraged at the actions and inactions of Peak Performers and stand in solidarity with the other victims.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Staffers charged with abusing 26 students at Pennsylvania school
Twenty staffers at a Pennsylvania charter school have been charged in connection with the physical abuse of more than two dozen children, some of them as young as 5 years old, prosecutors announced. All 26 alleged victims, ranging from kindergarteners to fifth graders, were enrolled in a behavioral and emotional support program at Chester Community Charter School called the Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success. They were each allegedly subjected to painful punishments at the Philly-area school, including what the students called 'shoulder work,' the office of Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement The tactic involved 'pinching students on pressure points near their necks, placing them in holds with their arms crossed in front of them, and having a knee applied to their back until the student was brought to the ground.' The young victims were also allegedly physically restrained at times as a form punishment. 'This case is every parents' nightmare,' Stollsteimer said. 'We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally,' he continued. 'Our investigation showed some staffers physically abusing children while others sat passively and watched.' An investigation into the matter was launched in January, after a 7-year-old boy told his parents he was afraid to go to school because his classmates were being physically restrained in a 'positive support room' on campus, according to an affidavit obtained by NBC News. The next day, the relatives of another 7-year-old came forward with similar allegations regarding the mistreatment of their child. Investigators went on to uncover roughly 100 incidents of alleged abuse, all of them caught on security cameras, the district attorney's office said. Of the 20 people charged, nine have been accused of abusing students. They are facing counts of conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child, the DA's office said. The other 11 have been charged with failure to report the alleged endangerment, and three of them have been placed on leave pending further investigation. Police said the latter group includes a 'dean of students' as well as 'teachers.' The suspects also include 17 contractors from a Chester-based third-party company called Peak Performers Staffing, according to school spokesperson Max Tribble. The school terminated its contract with the company after learning its contractors were using 'disciplinary methods which are strictly prohibited by the school,' he told the Philly Voice. 'The health and safety of our students is always our top priority and that is why we acted quickly to ensure that students would not be further subjected to any unauthorized disciplinary methods.'
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Yahoo
Staffers charged with abusing 26 students at Pennsylvania school
Twenty staffers at a Pennsylvania charter school have been charged in connection with the physical abuse of more than two dozen children, some of them as young as 5 years old, prosecutors announced. All 26 alleged victims, ranging from kindergarteners to fifth graders, were enrolled in a behavioral and emotional support program at Chester Community Charter School called the Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success. They were each allegedly subjected to painful punishments at the Philly-area school, including what the students called 'shoulder work,' the office of Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement The tactic involved 'pinching students on pressure points near their necks, placing them in holds with their arms crossed in front of them, and having a knee applied to their back until the student was brought to the ground.' The young victims were also allegedly physically restrained at times as a form punishment. 'This case is every parents' nightmare,' Stollsteimer said. 'We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally,' he continued. 'Our investigation showed some staffers physically abusing children while others sat passively and watched.' An investigation into the matter was launched in January, after a 7-year-old boy told his parents he was afraid to go to school because his classmates were being physically restrained in a 'positive support room' on campus, according to an affidavit obtained by NBC News. The next day, the relatives of another 7-year-old came forward with similar allegations regarding the mistreatment of their child. Investigators went on to uncover roughly 100 incidents of alleged abuse, all of them caught on security cameras, the district attorney's office said. Of the 20 people charged, nine have been accused of abusing students. They are facing counts of conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child, the DA's office said. The other 11 have been charged with failure to report the alleged endangerment, and three of them have been placed on leave pending further investigation. Police said the latter group includes a 'dean of students' as well as 'teachers.' The suspects also include 17 contractors from a Chester-based third-party company called Peak Performers Staffing, according to school spokesperson Max Tribble. The school terminated its contract with the company after learning its contractors were using 'disciplinary methods which are strictly prohibited by the school,' he told the Philly Voice. 'The health and safety of our students is always our top priority and that is why we acted quickly to ensure that students would not be further subjected to any unauthorized disciplinary methods.'
