Alumni call for sex abuse controls

SOUTH COVENTRY » A group of nearly 50 former Owen J. Roberts High School students who were members of student government during their time in school has issued a joint letter calling for measures to address sexual abuse by teachers.

The letter comes in the wake of the May 7 arrest of Stephen E. Raught on charges he allegedly sexually assaulted one of his students inside the school building while the district was closed on quarantine because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The former student government students decided to issue the letter due, in part, to the fact that for many years, Raught was the student government advisor, according to one of the alums

who spoke to MediaNews Group.

The group has resisted identifying a spokesperson so as not to dilute the unity of their message, the alum said, adding that since issuing the letter, the group has been contacted by others who say they have information about similar incidents. Those people have all been referred to the Chester County District Attorney’s office, said the alum.

Raught was charged with institutional sexual assault and unlawful contact with a minor, both felonies, as well as counts of corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children.

The alleged victim in the case, a 17-year-old female student, told authorities that Raught had taken her to his classroom when she had stopped by the school to pick up a textbook in March. Inside, he began kissing and fondling her, then engaged in oral sex with her through her clothing as she sat on a countertop, according to police.

When she tried to distance herself from him and distract him, he remarked, “Too bad we have quarantine, or else you would be in my classroom every day after school,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Raught, 53, of Exeter Township, Berks County, was arraigned by District Judge John Hipple and briefly ordered committed to Chester County Prison on $50,000 bail before he was able to post a bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for May 27.

“The details of this incident left many of us, specifically females, recounting our own memories in the student government homeroom and wondering if we too were at risk. More importantly, we now know of other students speaking out and sharing troubling stories about said faculty

member,” according to the letter, which is scheduled to be read into the record at Monday’s school board meeting.

Raught’s arrest is the second to involve sexual incidents between students and staff at Owen J. Roberts High School within the past three years.

In February 2018, Melissa Bonkoski, a former science teacher and softball coach, pleaded guilty to two felonies in connection with her illicit relationship with a former student in which she admitted having sexual intercourse with the teen.

Since making their letter public, the former students, who range from the Class of 2011 to the Class of 2019, have received more than 600 digital “signatures” of support, which are being collected through a Google Form.

“We did not expect our letter to get this much traction in such a short period of time,” the former students said in a press release issued about the letter.

“What’s clear is that our community is concerned about student safety and is ready to return to this challenging conversation,” according to the release.

“The truth is that students did speak up. This teacher’s inappropriate actions were reported and dismissed time and again,” the alumni wrote.

“As young adults, we are taught to trust Alumni call for sex abuse controls our teachers and our school — that trust was betrayed,” the letter read. “Even though, by and large, the faculty members at Owen J. Roberts High School are professional and respectful, we must hold those who doubted students’ accounts and failed to act accountable.”

The letter lays out a series of steps it wants the school board to initiate,

They include consulting with “a third-party organization specializing in serving survivors of gender-based violence and

preventing gender-based violence, in order to review all avenues that students have available to report inappropriate conduct, both inside and outside the school system, including the sexual education program and crisis counseling.”

The alums are also asking that the results of that review, and any shortfalls it reveals, to be posted publicly and mailed home to students and parents, along with a plan to fix it by Aug. 1.

A task force at the high school to address the problem is another recommendation made in the letter.

School Board President Karel Minor issued a statement on behalf of the school board after consulting with members in response to a MediaNews Group query.

“Like the rest of our community, every member of the Owen J. Roberts School Board is deeply concerned by the recent charges filed against an OJR teacher. We wish to share our commitment to review not only the circumstances surrounding this case, but all district policies and practices,” he wrote.

“We may be a relatively new board, but we are committed to continuing the district’s efforts to ensure the safety of every student and will be considering a wide array of options in this effort, including those suggested by members of the community,” Minor wrote.

“As parents of current and past OJR students, we will be demanding answers and mandating action in order to join with our community and Dr. (Susan) Lloyd in protecting our kids,” he wrote.

In a May 11 communication with parents outlining some of the prevention, training and reporting measures the district currently has in place, Lloyd wrote that “I think I can speak for us all when I say that we are shocked by the grave recent developments in our district.”