20 Delaware County School Employees Charged With Child Abuse
Twenty school employees in Chester are facing charges in connection with child abuse allegations.
Chester Township police were notified on January 14, 2025, of a suspected child abuse case at Chester Community Charter School in the 2700 block of Bethel Road. During the investigation, police learned that on January 9th the parent of a 7-year-old student contacted the school’s director of special programs. The parent expressed concerns regarding their child’s safety and well-being at school, specifically in the “positive support room” on campus. The parent allegedly told the director that the student were afraid to go to school and was put in “holds.”
The director then relayed the message to the schools principle. After the principle, another 7-year-old student allegedly approached the school with similar concerns. When Chester Township officers reviewed surveillance video that was taken in the classrooms, they reportedly counted around 100 cases of abuse against 26 kids as young as 5 years old.
Two of the accused, Raymon Harris and Kabree Daniels, improperly restrained children and are suspended until the investigation is over. Harris and Daniels are “positive support facilitator,” who work with emotionally supportive K-5, the affidavit states.
According to the affidavit, the two allegedly improperly restrained the students by using painful techniques such as pinching students necks, holding them in restraints, threatening them with “shoulder work,” as well as forcibly bringing the children to the ground.
Investigators say nine staff members abused the kids, 11 others observed the abuse, but did not report it, which is required by law. On Monday, the Chester Community Charter School posted a letter on its website, saying they are cooperating, but there are questions about how this was able to happen.
Read The Full Letter Released By The Chester Community Charter School:
“CCCS has recently learned that several individuals, employees of a certified outside contractor formerly associated with the school, are being charged by local authorities for using disciplinary methods which are strictly prohibited by the school. The contractor is Peak Performers. 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.
It is important to note that families of all affected students were promptly notified as soon as the school became aware of the allegations, and those families have all chosen to keep their students enrolled at CCCS because of the school’s deep commitment to their education and wellbeing. No student is at risk and our entire CCCS community is committed to ensuring only the best practices to maintain a positive climate.
We also recently learned that three employees are being charged as part of this investigation for failing to report alleged misconduct. They have been suspended pending further investigation.
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. It is also important to know that CCCS requires that every employee who has direct contact with children complete mandated reporter training.
CCCS will continue to cooperate with any inquiry by local officials.”
