A boy sexually assaulted by a teacher's aide who later killed herself is now suing the Pennsbury School District, plus four other new cases of interest filed in Pennsylvania courts.
Vincent C. v. Pennsbury School District, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Nov. 26
Teacher's aide Jerrilynne Derolf, who was 38 years old at the time, used Zoom to groom Vincent starting in 2020 with private one-hour conversations and she escalated by taking the 14-year-old on walks around the Valley Day School's Morrisville campus the next year, the lawsuit says.
Later in 2021, Derolf allegedly strongarmed Vincent into sex by showing him a gun. She had access to his Individualized Education Program, which noted "the language he uses is very sexual and inappropriate for a school setting," the suit says.
Despite criminal charges, Derolf tried to meet with him in August 2021. When police arrived, she shot and killed herself.
"Derolf confessed to her crimes, was incarcerated with extensive region-wide publicitiy, but was predictably released on bail several days later with access anew to Vincent," the suit says.
"The Defendants took no action to prevent further contact and abuse by Derolf as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972..."
The suit charges Pennsbury School District and Valley Day with failing to initiate a Title IX investigation and grievance process or provide Vincent with support and increased security.
The suit says Vincent now suffers from PTSD after watching Derolf kill herself. Dennis McAndrew of McAndrews, Mehalick, Connolly, Hulse and Ryan represents the plaintiff.
Souderton Area For All, et al., v. Souderton Area School District
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Nov. 20
The lawsuit follows Souderton schools banning some family members of students from school property as a result of chaos caused by comments made by school board member Bill Formica.
The community called for Formica's resignation in August after he posted on X about then-Presidential candidate Kamala Harris that "She blew a lot of dudes." He apologized but at a meeting moved to a middle school gym to accommodate a large turnout said he would be "hearing the tired old labeling applied to all white alpha males to shut up."
Patrick Kitt, Christopher Spigal, Helen Spigal, Maureen Kratz and Heather Young are now suing Souderton schools. Three of them were denied entry to board meetings in September because they did not have photo identification.
Kitt and the Spigels were then threatened with trespass charges if they entered school property, the suit says. The Spigels have children in the district and Kitt has a sibling.
They must now provide advance notice and stay in their vehicles when picking up or dropping off their family members. The district said it banned them over comments made in a parking lot after a Sept. 26 board meeting.
Pup O'Clock v. Sarah Chirico
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Nov. 25
Pup O'Clock is hoping to make a name for itself as a company that promotes a healthy relationship between children and pets but is now going to court to sue Chirico - a woman it says has invested no money and hid guilty pleas to animal cruelty and failure to keep kennels in a sanitary and humane condition.
Chirico, who ran a dog day care, has faced litigation over the selling and purchasing of dogs and was shown on ABC News when it covered the cruelty charge.
"Based upon these revelations, Pup O'Clock made the decision to sever all ties, if any existed, with Defendant Sarah Chirico," the suit says.
Since that decision, Chirico has allegedly slandered Pup O'Clock and its owners in front of potential investors and clients. The lawsuit alleges defamation and interference with the business.
Rafael Garcia v. City of Philadelphia, et al.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Nov. 26
Former Philadelphia assistant district attorney Bridget Kirn is also named as a defendant by Garcia, who says his 2006 conviction on 76 counts was orchestrated illegally. It wasn't until 2022 that Garcia's lawyer obtained mental health records of the witnesses the prosecution used to convict Garcia, he says.
Plus Kirn coerced others to fabricate testimony by reaching "sweetheart" deals to lessen penalties for their own criminal activities, he says. Garcia was charged as part of a burglary ring that victimized more than 30 homes and businesses and sentenced to at least 35 years in prison.
Kirn left the DA's office in 2018. The Innocence Project filed an ethics complaint against her that year over the prosecution of Anthony Wright, alleging she ignored DNA evidence that cleared him of the accused crime.
Garcia says the paperwork he's finally received - some of which should have been turned over prior to his trial - shows Kirn viewed his case as a career milestone.
"In her desperate zeal to link Plaintiff to a storage room at a property on Edmund Street that contained stolen items more than the actual evidence did, she told the jury in closing that a suitcase with his name on it was found by police there," the suit says.
"That remark occurred after all of the evidence had been produced, so it could have been 'fact-checked' against her trial notes or with the police subpoenaed for trial. Yet it surely was not, or else it was an abject prevarication.
"In either event, the false statement was 'scripted,' and it was both undeniably wrong and undeniably prejudicial to Plaintiff."
Garcia's conviction has been vacated and he faced another trial, so he pleaded guilty to some charges and was released with time served.
Thomas Jeffrey v. PPG Industries
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Nov. 27
Jeffrey sought a job with PPG and disclosed his prior criminal conviction. He says he was told since it was so long ago, it wouldn't be a factor, and he disclosed he is on probation.
He accepted the job in October but was fired two weeks later, with PPG telling him it was "holding their supervisors to a higher standard and that his situation had come to light."
His suit charges PPG with violations of the Criminal History Record Information Act.