PENNSYLVANIA
Sharon Herald
By Melissa Klaric Herald Staff Writer
MERCER COUNTY — Sexual abuse by teachers and coaches was brought to the forefront in Pennsylvania as a result of the high profile cases of Brother Stephen Baker and Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
Baker, a Franciscan friar, killed himself in January after being accused of sexually abusing students at John F. Kennedy High School, Warren, Ohio, in the late ’80s and early ’90s and at Bishop McCort High School in Johnstown, Pa.
Sandusky, a retired coach, was sent to prison last year for 30 to 60 years for sexually assaulting 10 boys.
Locally, Jamestown High School teacher Kevin A. DeFrancesco was sentenced in November to three nine-month sentences, to be served consecutively, for sexual abuse of children, unlawful contact with a minor, and attempt to commit sexual abuse with children after he sent inappropriate text messages to two female students, ages 13 and 14.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.