‘BREACH OF TRUST’
EX-GLEN MILLS COUNSELOR GETS PROBATION IN ASSAULT
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A former counselor at the Glen Mills Schools was given two years of probation Friday after pleading to charges that he assaulted a 17-yearold student in 2018. Christopher Medina,
33, of Kennett Square, entered open guilty pleas before Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret Amoroso to charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of children, all misdemeanors.
Another counselor, Patrick Jameson Raquet of West Chester, had also been charged in the fall of 2018 with assaulting the victim, but twice had charges against him dismissed at the Magisterial District Court level.
Deputy District Attorney Douglas Rhodes noted the charges carried standard sentences ranging from restorative sanctions to nine months in prison and requested a standard range of incarceration based on Medina’s trusted position as a person of authority at the school.
“It is quite clear that what happened here is a breach of that trust and a breach of the duty that Mr. Medina had as an employee of the Glen Mills School,” said Rhodes. “It’s quite possible that at times, that might be a difficult job, but it is a job that Mr. Medina signed up for and he is trained to handle those kids with that purpose in mind … of reforming and restoring.”
Amoroso said she had reviewed a letter from the victim’s mother and video of the assault, in which Medina hits the student in the back of the head three times before pulling him out of a chair and body-slamming him to the ground. Rhodes noted there was a massive size difference between Medina, at approximately 345 pounds, and the student, who likely weighed no more than 180.
Rhodes added that this was not a “one-punch” assault that might happen between two adults in a bar, but a three-minute incident of subduing the minor victim, who claims to have sustained soft tissue damage and mental trauma.
The Glen Mills School had been the oldest reform school in the country and served students who had been adjudicated by the courts nationwide, but was shut down by the state following a blistering investigative piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer detailing decades of abuse.
The counselors’ arrests heralded that report, as well as the subsequent state actions to remove children from the premises and revoke all of the school’s 14 licenses. The 193-year-old institution has also since seen the departure of former director Randy Ireson along with nearly all staff and it is currently the subject of numerous lawsuits, including one from the victim in this case.
Glen Mills is now under the leadership of Acting Executive Director Chris Spriggs and board President Carolyn Seagraves, who say they are focused on retooling every aspect of the program to bring the school back online with a different atmosphere and culture.
“The safety and security of the youth we serve is the highest priority of the Glen Mills Schools,” said Spriggs in a statement Monday. “We are gratified that Mr. Medina has pleaded guilty and that he has accepted responsibility for any harm caused this young man. Mr. Medina’s actions were contrary to the training provided to him by Glen Mills. Glen Mills continues to cooperate with all state and local authorities in an effort to provide the highest level of accountability and transparency.”
Defense attorney Daniel Armstrong presented testimony from Medina’s pregnant girlfriend and her mother, both of whom said he was a good man. The girlfriend, Samantha Horne, said she had never seen Medina respond to any situation with anger and had no violent tendencies. He has been very supportive of the impending birth of their daughter, she said, and has no concerns about him being around their child or his 6-year-old daughter from a prior marriage.
“We’re building a rally nice life together and I truly do believe that he is a really good person,” said Horne.
Armstrong added that his client had a clean record before and after the arrest, is cooperating with various ongoing investigations at the school and has shown remorse for the incident.
“What this case represents in the overall character of Mr. Medina is basically a three-minute slice in a 31-year-old life at the time of the incident,” said Armstrong. “He did breach a duty that was owed to (the victim) in that school, but he breached that duty for a total of three minutes.”
Armstrong said his client has already suffered greatly for “depositing” the student on a carpeted floor, including the loss of his job and his inability moving forward to work in any capacity dealing with minors.
Medina also apologized to the family Friday, though he forgot the student’s name until prompted by Armstrong. He said that he was hoping for better things in his life and currently works at a wine store, though Horne was helping him to be a better man and was the best thing to happen to him.
Judge Amoroso said she could see that Medina was embarrassed and remorseful, though she found the video of the body-slam “disturbing.” She agreed that Medina needed to have reacted better in the situation and that he required some form of punishment, but not incarceration.
Amoroso also noted that the charges will keep Medina from working with children again, but will not impact his ability to have custody or supervision of his own daughters.
“The events that occurred at the Glen Mills Schools shocked our community,” said county District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer in a release. “The school failed in its most basic duty – to protect the children in its care. While today’s sentencing cannot undo the trauma experienced by the victim, the defendant’s guilty plea is a significant accomplishment in that the defendant has acknowledged responsibility for the harm that he caused. It also ensures that the defendant will not work with children in the future. This conviction should serve as a warning to anyone who is entrusted with the care of our children that such conduct will not be tolerated.”