Wyoming County’s chief prosecutor dropped charges this week against a county caseworker accused of endangering a teenager found badly malnourished last year.
In a statement issued Wednesday, District Attorney Joe Peters said he would no longer pursue the case against county Children and Youth caseworker Gerald K. Pender because of a state Superior Court ruling Monday.
The ruling upheld an Adams County Court decision to grant three county children and youth agency staffers immunity from prosecution on endangering the welfare of a child charges.
DA says ruling applies in Wyoming
Peters said the ruling gives Pender the same immunity from prosecution and allows his release from prison.
Peters said he still thinks a jury would have convicted Pender but said he followed “my legal and ethical obligations as a district attorney and officer of the court.”
“The voters of Wyoming County elected me to make difficult decisions, and this is one of them,” Peters said. “Although I am unhappy with the ultimate outcome, I have an obligation to the citizens of Wyoming County to uphold the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and of the United States, and that sometimes means terminating a prosecution in the interests of justice in order to comply with the law as it evolves in appellate court decisions.”
Living in filthy conditions
State police charged Pender, 47, of Monroe Twp. in Wyoming County, in May with endangering the welfare of a 16-year-old girl with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Police found the girl emaciated and living in filthy conditions in a Meshoppen home in January.
Pender waived his preliminary hearing but could not post bail and was jailed in the county prison. He was released this week.
Police also charged others who lived with or were related to the girl: Ashley E. Brewer, 37, of Meshoppen, the girl’s mother; Deborah M. Graham, 60, of Dalton; and William A. Schuster Jr., 43, of Tunkhannock.
Their cases remain pending in county court.
Effects on Lackawanna case
The Superior Court ruling may have implications for a Lackawanna County criminal case against three current and former caseworkers and two supervisors in the county Office of Youth and Family Services.
In July 2023, authorities charged Amy Helcoski, of Scranton; Erik Krauser, of Dickson City; Sadie Coyne (O’Day), of Scranton; Bryan Walker, of Archbald; and Randy Ramik, of Clarks Green, with endangering the welfare of children and failing to report or refer suspect child abuse.
In January 2024, county Judge James Gibbons dismissed all the charges against the five. Gibbons ruled they have immunity from prosecution because they were doing their jobs.
District Attorney Mark Powell immediately criticized Gibbons’ decision. Powell said it would “give permission to every child protective services worker ... to ignore their responsibilities without fear of any legal consequences.”
“It’s wrong and it cannot stand,” Powell said. “Our children deserve better.”
Powell appealed the ruling to the Superior Court.
Lackawanna decision expected soon
District Attorney Brian Gallagher, who has since replaced Powell, said Thursday he expects the Superior Court to decide the appeal soon.
Gallagher said he thinks he can still win because the Superior Court specifically distinguished the Adams and Lackawanna counties cases in a footnote to its Adams ruling.
The footnote points out the Lackawanna County employees are also charged with failure to report, and the Adams County employees were not.
“They haven’t issued the decision in our case yet, but I have to think by the way (the) argument went and how the (Adams) decision reads, that in our case I think we will be successful,” Gallagher said.
Efforts to reach attorney Curt Parkins, who argued the appeal for the five county employees, were not immediately successful.
