Twenty Delco School Workers Charged With Child Abuse

Twenty workers at Chester Community Charter School have been charged with child abuse. (Photo via Chester Community Charter School)

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Delco DA Charges 20 Chester Community Charter School Workers With Child Abuse

Delco District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer just charged 20 — yes twenty — people who worked at the Chester Community Charter School with child abuse. The charges involve 26 elementary school children.

Police began investigating the school in January after parents told school administrators that their children were afraid to go to school because of staff behavior. Some of the workers at the school were allegedly using illegal restraints, pinching students, pushing on “pressure points” near their necks, and jamming their knees into students’ backs as part of the “discipline” process.

Prosecutors say that many of the incidents are visible in surveillance footage. Workers also stand accused of making violent threats towards the children.

From the affidavit of probable cause in the case:

The footage documented multiple instances of abuse involving children under the care of several staff members. The abuse typically involved physically restraining children without any visible threat to themselves or others. The methods used included forcefully pulling children’s arms across their chest, applying excessive pressure to their necks and shoulders, using knee strikes to force them to the ground, and pinning them in prone positions. These actions resulted in visible injuries, including scratches, bruises, and shoulder pain. The children were observed displaying clear signs of distress, such as crying, adjusting their clothing, and shifting their necks in discomfort.

“This case is every parents’ nightmare,” Stollsteimer said in a statement. “We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally. 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.”

Court documents indicate that the school’s principal told police that whenever a so-called legitimate “safety hold” is used, the school must file a report. But in 2024, the year that most of these incidents allegedly occurred, there were zero such reports.

These are the twenty people charged:

• Raymond Harris
• Kabree Daniels
• Christian Denny
• Martin Mincey, Jr.
• Larry Woodhouse, Jr.
• Amaru Mohammed
• Leroy Campbell
• Adrian Hospedale
• Monica Griffin
• 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

The DA charged Harris, Daniels, Denny, Mincey, Woodhouse, Mohammad, Campbell, Hospedale, and Griffin with conspiracy, simple assault, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment, endangering the welfare of a child, and failure to report endangering the welfare of a child. He charged the rest of them with a least one and in some cases multiple counts of failure to report endangering the welfare of a child. In other words, if you see something, say something.

By the Numbers

$50,000: Purse of the Major League Table Tennis championship that’s coming to St. Joe’s on April 12th and 13th. It turns out that 76ers owner David Blitzer and head of basketball operations Daryl Morey are investors in the MLTT. Who knew? Hopefully the tournament is more exciting than the current Sixers season.

$270: What it will cost you per person to enjoy the tasting menu at the ambitious new-ish Society Hill restaurant Provenance. Yes, that includes a mandatory 20 percent gratuity. No, that does not include any beverages. But does Philly actually want a restaurant like this? If that’s a bit steep for you, we have some more affordable tasting menu options here.

3: Philadelphia-area towns that landed in the top 10 of this list of the country’s best suburbs to live in. The #1 place has a population of under 5,500 people.

$4,999,000: Amount you’ll have to drop if you want to live in this positively spectacular waterfront home in Margate. I think the tricked-out master bath is as big as my entire first floor in West Philly.

Local Talent

You may have heard that Will Smith has a new album, his first in something like 20 years. Philly decided to name a street after him and, somehow, no one has yet vandalized the sign to read “Chris Rock Way.” (C’mon, people!) I enjoyed what Weekend Update co-host Michael Che had to say about the album over the weekend on Saturday Night Live: “Will Smith has released his first new album in 20 years, and ironically the album doesn’t slap.” The Daily Beast calls the album a “flop.” It can’t be any worse than Wild Wild West, right?