Janitor arrested for sex abuse of 2 students

WEST CHESTER » A custodian at Valley Forge Middle School was arrested Tuesday and charged with the sexual assault of two students at the school after the mother of one of the victims notified authorities when she noticed inappropriate text messages sent to her 14-year-old daughter.

Arrested was Rushon Drayton, 23, of Paoli, a custodian at Valley Forge Middle School in Tredyffrin Township. He was charged with multiple counts of institutional sexual assault, indecent assault of a person under 16, unlawful contact with a minor, corruption of minors, statutory sexual assault, and other charges.

“Rushon Drayton preyed upon vulnerable middle schoolers who he groomed over a period of time while working in his job as a janitor at Valley Forge Middle School,” said Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan. “We are aware of two victims at this stage in the investigation but believe that there may be others. We urge parents to contact Tredyffrin Twp. Police Detectives at 610-644-3221 with any information about this case.”

According to authorities, on April 10, 2022, the mother of a 14-year-old student at Valley Forge Middle School contacted Tredyffrin Police about inappropriate text messages sent to her daughter by Drayton known as “Shawn,” who was the school custodian.

The victim told police that “Shawn” became friendly with students over the past several months by handing out candy three to four times a week. The victim said that Drayton talked with her one-on-one in the hallway and asked for her cell phone number, which she gave to him.

The victim said Drayton then started texting and Face-timing with her during the week, weekend, and school. On April 10, the victim’s mother checked her daughter’s cell phone and found text messages between she and a friend that had screen shots of messages from “Shawn” that were inappropriate and sexual. She then contacted Tredyffrin Police.

On April 14, police became aware of a second victim, a 13-year-old girl, whom the Drayton had communicated with about sexually explicit topics. That victim told detectives that Drayton had given her a sex toy, marijuana, and other gifts. Police recovered hundreds of sexual and inappropriate text messages and photos that were sent to the second victim by Drayton, even though he had deleted them. Authorities said the messaged

discussed sex and plans to meet for sexual contact.

On April 13, 2022 Drayton came to Tredyffrin Police on his own accord to talk to detectives. He voluntarily agreed to a second post Miranda interview. During this interview, Drayton admitted to kissing one of the underage girls on approximately 10 separate occasions and to spending time with her outside of school, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

“Children deserve to be safe in schools and all adults are responsible to ensure their safety,” Ryan said. “We continue to stress the importance of reporting suspicious behavior knowing that we all must do what we can to protect our most vulnerable. We thank Tredyffrin Twp. Police for their hard work and swift apprehension of the defendant.”

Tredyffrin Police Chief Mike Beaty said, “Our detectives worked quickly and diligently on this case to ensure the safety of the children at Valley Forge Middle School. We will continue to work with Tredyffrin/Easttown School District to protect all students and other potential victims.”

Drayton was released after posting $50,000 bail set by Magisterial District Justice Lauren Holt.

Tredyffrin Police are investigating. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact the Tredyffrin Twp. Detectives at 610644-3221. Call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 if you suspect a child is being abused.