Twenty employees in suburban Philadelphia Red schools face charges related to alleged physical abuse of students who use painful, unapproved techniques for restraint and punishing young people in the program that helped them deal with emotional issues on Monday.
District Lawyer Delaware Jack Stollsteimer said that counting works against 26 children in kindergarten through the fifth grade in Chester Chester Charter school. Those accused are accused of physically abusing students or not report suspicious abuse.
The Chester Police investigation began after the two parents complained to school officials in January that their children feared attend school for fear of school staff.
“This case is a nightmare for parents. We send our children to school expecting adults to keep them, not abuse physically and emotionally,” Stollsteimer said. “Our investigation showed the staff of physically abusing children, while others (adults) sat passively and watched. All adults are accused equal in the failure to protect these children, and some youth 5 years.”
The District Prosecutor said that the alleged abuse occurred in the program for children who demanded help in their emotions in dealing with the school life, colleagues and other situations.
The police investigation found that nine accused used techniques for restraining and punishing children in the school program of emotional support, he said.
Stollsteimer said that they included painful techniques like rubber students in the pressure points near the door, putting them in their hands crossed in front of them and that the knee is applied to the back while the student brings on his back.
Many of these abuse are trapped on the camera surveillance recordings obtained and review by the investigator, Stollsteimer said.
Those accused include several people employed in a private company, the staff of the top. Stollsteimer said the company’s founder offered in school assurances, and his staff were trained properly, but when researchers asked for documenting the training of staff and / or crisis techniques, he did not learn any of the company’s staff.
School officials have confirmed the researchers that any use of the “security function” must be reported under state guidelines. But officials said that there was no such state reported during 2024. years, when many violent acts alleged.
Nine people faces multiple numbers, including conspire, illegal restraint, children’s endangered and false prison sentence. 11 others are charged with at least one point of failure in reporting on children’s threat. All accused are classified according to the state law as a mandate journalists of suspicious incidents of child abuse.
Several accused were in custody Monday afternoon, and Stollsteimer said many others made arrangements to surrender soon.
Voicemail messages were left on Monday for the School Administration and the phone number specified for the peak contractors staff was not returned. The school, however, published a statement that he said fully cooperated with the police and completed his contract with the company after school administrators learned that there may have been a possible violation of approved disciplinary methods.
School employees The accused of participating in abuse was shot, according to the statement, while those who may have been aware of the alleged abuse.
“As soon as school administrators learned that there was a possible violation of approved (disciplinary) methods, quick and decisive action for the abolition of the contractor,” said the contractor’s statement, “the school statement said.
According to his website, the school was founded in 1998. and now serves more than 4,000 students in the Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County, consisting two-thirds in the district public school. Serves a kindergarten through the eighth grade on four campuses.