20 Pennsylvania school employees charged in child abuse case, DA says

By Jessica MacAulay, Nikki DeMentri, Tom Gardiner

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    DELAWARE COUNTY, Pennsylvania (KYW) — Twenty people working within a Delaware County charter school have been charged following an investigation into child abuse and child endangerment against more than two dozen elementary school students, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced Monday.

In a news release, Stollsteimer said the 20 people who were charged worked in the Chester Community Charter School. As of Monday afternoon, Stollsteimer said he believed 3 of the 20 were in custody, but many had made arrangements to turn themselves in.

The school staffers were charged with multiple counts related to child abuse against 26 children, ranging from kindergarten through fifth grade, who were involved in the school’s Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success program.

According to the school’s website, the Team Approach to Achieving Academic Success program, or TAAS, utilizes a “team approach to assessing and assisting students facing unique academic and behavioral challenges.” The program is described online as a “hallmark success” at the Chester Community Charter School by “implementing a highly effective method of intervention.”

The investigation into the staffers began after two parents informed school officials in January 2025 that their children were scared to go to school and be placed in “holds” by staff.

“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 said.

Nine of the 20 staffers charged allegedly used “techniques to restrain and punish children” that were a part of the school program, according to the DA’s Office.

The methods of abuse allegedly ranged from pinching students in pressure points near their necks, restraining them and threats of “shoulder work.” Stollersteimer explained that shoulder work involved pinching students on the pressure points by their necks, putting them in holds with their arms crossed in front of them, and then having a knee pushed on their back until he student was on the ground.

Stollsteimer said many instances of the abuse were captured on surveillance video and that in one incident, he saw a staffer “jack a kid up against the wall.”

“This is just unacceptable behavior to happen anywhere, but particularly in a school setting for children who are supposed to be getting emotional support,” he said.

Many of the staffers accused of child abuse were employees of Peak Performers Staffing, LLC, a company co-founded by Jennifer Woodhouse and Emmanuel Gilbert of Chester. Woodhouse said the Peak Performers were trained in safety care techniques; however, when investigators asked for records of the training in restraints and crisis prevention techniques, it was revealed that none of the staffers had the mandated up-to-date training, Stollsteimer said.

The Chester Community Charter School principal told investigators that any use of safety holds are required to be reported due to Pennsylvania guidelines. However, no holds were reported by the school for 2024, which is when many instances of abuse happened, according to Stollsteimer.

“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,” a statement from Chester Community Charter School read in part. “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.”

The school statement said families were notified as soon as they became aware of the abuse allegations and that the families have all decided to keep their kids enrolled.

In an updated statement, Chester Community Charter School said it plans to pursue all appropriate legal recourse against Peak Performers for the “reckless and dangerous manner it operated.” The school said it is outraged at Peak Performers’ actions and stands in solidarity with the victims. A full version of the statement was shared by the school online.

According to the DA’s Office, the 20 people charged include: Raymond Harris, Kabree Daniels, Christian Denny, Martin Mincey, Jr., Harry 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 and Asia Pena.

Harris, Daniels, Denny, Mincey, Woodhouse, Mohammad, Campbell, Hospedale and Griffin are 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.

Pierce, King-Pierce, Clements, Barlee, Edmonds, Belgrave, Bennett-Allen, Ridley, Moloney, Williams and Pena are charged with failure to report the endangering the welfare of a child.

“All of these employees, all 20 people, have a duty under Pennsylvania law to report instances of child abuse. They are mandated to report that by law,” Stollsteimer said. “So by not reporting it, they violated the law.”

Stollsteimer said it’s an ongoing investigation, and authorities are still reviewing surveillance video. Any parents of potential victims are asked to come forward.

“This is a systemic problem in this school where these kids in this program were living in fear, a lot of them,” he said.

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