Pennsylvania
Staffers accused of abusing students or not reporting it at charter school
Twenty staffers at a suburban Philadelphia charter school are facing charges related to the alleged physical abuse of students using painful, unapproved techniques to restrain and punish youths in a program meant to help them deal with emotional issues, authorities announced Monday.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said the counts involve acts against 26 children in kindergarten through fifth grade at the Chester Community Charter School. Those charged are accused of physically abusing the students or failing to report suspected abuse.
The investigation by Chester police began after two parents complained to school officials in January that their children were afraid to attend the school due to fears of being placed in “holds” by school staff.
“This case is every parent’s nightmare. We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally,” Stollsteimer said.
“Our investigation showed some staffers physically abusing children while other (adults) sat passively and watched. All the adults charged are equally guilty in failing to protect these children, some as young as 5 years old.”
The district attorney said the alleged abuse occurred in a program for children who required help with their emotions in dealing with school life, fellow students and other situations.
The police investigation determined that nine of the defendants used techniques to restrain and punish children in the school’s emotional support program, he said.
Stollsteimer said that included painful techniques such as pinching students on pressure points near their necks, holding students in restraints, 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.
Many of these abuses were captured on surveillance camera footage obtained and reviewed by investigators, Stollsteimer said.
Those charged include several people employed by a private firm, Peak Performers Staffing. Stollsteimer said a company founder had offered the school assurances its staff was properly trained, but when investigators sought records documenting staff training in utilizing restraints and/or crisis prevention techniques, it was learned none of the company’s staff had completed the required training.
School officials confirmed to investigators that any use of a “safety hold” must be reported under state guidelines. But officials said no such holds were reported by the school during 2024, when many of the abusive acts were alleged to have taken place.
Nine people face multiple counts, including conspiracy, unlawful restraint, child endangerment and false imprisonment. The 11 others are charged with at least one count of failure to report child endangerment. All of the defendants are classified under state law as mandated reporters of suspected child abuse incidents.
A few of those charged were in custody as of Monday afternoon, and Stollsteimer said many others had made arrangements to surrender shortly.
Voice mail messages left Monday for the school administration office and at a phone number listed for Peak Performers Staffing were not returned. The school, though, released a statement saying it was fully cooperating with the police and had ended its contract with the company once school administrators learned there may have been possible violations of approved disciplinary methods.
School employees accused of taking part in the abuse were fired, according to the statement, while those who may have been aware of the alleged abuse were put on leave.
According to its website, the school was established in 1998 and now serves more than 4,000 students in the Chester-Upland school district in Delaware County, accounting for two-thirds of that district’s overall public school enrollment. It serves kindergarten through eighth grade on four campuses.
Nevada
Man suspected of setting fire to Tesla vehicles to remain jailed
A man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas will remain jailed until his trial on federal charges of arson and possessing an explosive device, a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah concluded no pretrial release conditions could be imposed on Paul Hyon Kim, 36, to assure the public’s safety, citing the dangerous nature of the crimes and saying it wasn’t a matter of burglary or simple vandalism.
“What occurred in this instance was so much more violent and dangerous than those acts. The acts appeared to be intended to create fear,” Youchah said.
The judge also said she found it fair to say “the intent of the act was to influence and potentially coerce others into action.”
Authorities say Kim threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and fired several gunshots in a Tesla service center’s parking lot early March 18. No one was injured.
Security video played at a police news conference last week showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word “resist” across the glass doors of the service center.
Prosecutor Jacob Operskalski said Kim posed a danger to the community. He said it wasn’t clear what Kim mean by writing “resist” on the doors.
“We can surmise the defendant is going to resist court orders,” Operskalski said.
Adam Solinger, an attorney representing Kim, called the attack a “glorified property crime with political overtones” and said “(Tesla CEO) Elon Musk’s undue influence on our federal government cannot be overstated enough.”
There has been an uptick of attacks on property with the Tesla logo across the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office and tapped Musk for a prominent role overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency that has conducted large-scale federal layoffs.
Some of the most prominent instances have taken place in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest.
Authorities say an Oregon man threw several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returned another day and shot out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard,
more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom, damaging vehicles and windows.
A 70-year-old Idaho man was arrested Saturday for aggravated battery after allegedly driving his vehicle into a man who had been driving a pickup with pro-Trump flags during a protest at a Tesla dealership in suburban Boise. The pickup driver drove himself to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
Prosecutors in Colorado have charged a woman in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships that authorities say also included Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man accused of setting fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston.
Staffers accused of abusing students or not reporting it at charter school
Twenty staffers at a suburban Philadelphia charter school are facing charges related to the alleged physical abuse of students using painful, unapproved techniques to restrain and punish youths in a program meant to help them deal with emotional issues, authorities announced Monday.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said the counts involve acts against 26 children in kindergarten through fifth grade at the Chester Community Charter School. Those charged are accused of physically abusing the students or failing to report suspected abuse.
The investigation by Chester police began after two parents complained to school officials in January that their children were afraid to attend the school due to fears of being placed in “holds” by school staff.
“This case is every parent’s nightmare. We send our children to school expecting the adults will keep them safe, not abuse them physically and emotionally,” Stollsteimer said.
“Our investigation showed some staffers physically abusing children while other (adults) sat passively and watched. All the adults charged are equally guilty in failing to protect these children, some as young as 5 years old.”
The district attorney said the alleged abuse occurred in a program for children who required help with their emotions in dealing with school life, fellow students and other situations.
The police investigation determined that nine of the defendants used techniques to restrain and punish children in the school’s emotional support program, he said.
Stollsteimer said that included painful techniques such as pinching students on pressure points near their necks, holding students in restraints, 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.
Many of these abuses were captured on surveillance camera footage obtained and reviewed by investigators, Stollsteimer said.
Those charged include several people employed by a private firm, Peak Performers Staffing. Stollsteimer said a company founder had offered the school assurances its staff was properly trained, but when investigators sought records documenting staff training in utilizing restraints and/or crisis prevention techniques, it was learned none of the company’s staff had completed the required training.
School officials confirmed to investigators that any use of a “safety hold” must be reported under state guidelines. But officials said no such holds were reported by the school during 2024, when many of the abusive acts were alleged to have taken place.
Nine people face multiple counts, including conspiracy, unlawful restraint, child endangerment and false imprisonment. The 11 others are charged with at least one count of failure to report child endangerment. All of the defendants are classified under state law as mandated reporters of suspected child abuse incidents.
A few of those charged were in custody as of Monday afternoon, and Stollsteimer said many others had made arrangements to surrender shortly.
Voice mail messages left Monday for the school administration office and at a phone number listed for Peak Performers Staffing were not returned. The school, though, released a statement saying it was fully cooperating with the police and had ended its contract with the company once school administrators learned there may have been possible violations of approved disciplinary methods.
School employees accused of taking part in the abuse were fired, according to the statement, while those who may have been aware of the alleged abuse were put on leave.
According to its website, the school was established in 1998 and now serves more than 4,000 students in the Chester-Upland school district in Delaware County, accounting for two-thirds of that district’s overall public school enrollment. It serves kindergarten through eighth grade on four campuses.
Nevada
Man suspected of setting fire to Tesla vehicles to remain jailed
A man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas will remain jailed until his trial on federal charges of arson and possessing an explosive device, a judge ruled Monday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Elayna Youchah concluded no pretrial release conditions could be imposed on Paul Hyon Kim, 36, to assure the public’s safety, citing the dangerous nature of the crimes and saying it wasn’t a matter of burglary or simple vandalism.
“What occurred in this instance was so much more violent and dangerous than those acts. The acts appeared to be intended to create fear,” Youchah said.
The judge also said she found it fair to say “the intent of the act was to influence and potentially coerce others into action.”
Authorities say Kim threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles and fired several gunshots in a Tesla service center’s parking lot early March 18. No one was injured.
Security video played at a police news conference last week showed the suspect, dressed all in black and covering his face, paint the word “resist” across the glass doors of the service center.
Prosecutor Jacob Operskalski said Kim posed a danger to the community. He said it wasn’t clear what Kim mean by writing “resist” on the doors.
“We can surmise the defendant is going to resist court orders,” Operskalski said.
Adam Solinger, an attorney representing Kim, called the attack a “glorified property crime with political overtones” and said “(Tesla CEO) Elon Musk’s undue influence on our federal government cannot be overstated enough.”
There has been an uptick of attacks on property with the Tesla logo across the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office and tapped Musk for a prominent role overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency that has conducted large-scale federal layoffs.
Some of the most prominent instances have taken place in left-leaning cities in the Pacific Northwest.
Authorities say an Oregon man threw several Molotov cocktails at a Tesla store in Salem, then returned another day and shot out windows. In the Portland suburb of Tigard,
more than a dozen bullets were fired at a Tesla showroom, damaging vehicles and windows.
A 70-year-old Idaho man was arrested Saturday for aggravated battery after allegedly driving his vehicle into a man who had been driving a pickup with pro-Trump flags during a protest at a Tesla dealership in suburban Boise. The pickup driver drove himself to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
Prosecutors in Colorado have charged a woman in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships that authorities say also included Molotov cocktails thrown at vehicles and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building. And federal agents in South Carolina have arrested a man accused of setting fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston.
