Skip to content
Education
Link copied to clipboard

Parents sue S.E. Delco district in assaults by teacher

The parents of two 8-year-olds who were touched inappropriately by a former teacher filed a civil suit Monday against the ex-teacher, the Southeast Delco School District, and three administrators.

Paul Hochschwender, who is no longer employed by the district, had pleaded no contest to sexual assault and related criminal charges.
Paul Hochschwender, who is no longer employed by the district, had pleaded no contest to sexual assault and related criminal charges.Read more

The parents of two 8-year-olds who were touched inappropriately by a former teacher filed a civil suit Monday against the ex-teacher, the Southeast Delco School District, and three administrators.

Paul Hochschwender, 55, of Broomall, who is no longer employed by the district, had pleaded no contest to sexual assault and related criminal offenses.

Two children said last March that they were assaulted in the Darby Township Elementary School second-grade classroom in front of other pupils. Ten female students came forward as authorities investigated other sexual-abuse allegations against Hochschwender.

Hochschwender, a father of two, is to be sentenced April 7, although he surrendered to authorities in January to begin serving an agreed upon two-year prison term.

Art Donato, Hochschwender's attorney in the criminal cases, declined to comment.

Also named in the suit were Stephen D. Butz, school superintendent; Jeffrey Ryan, assistant superintendent; and Michael P. Jordan, who was principal of the school at the time of the assaults.

The district did not respond to a request for comment.

"The families' purpose is to find out everything that happened and how this could happen, given Paul Hochschwender's history," said Gerald Williams, the parents' attorney.

The suit alleges that the school district did not conduct appropriate background checks on Hochschwender when he was hired, failed to adequately train district personnel, took no disciplinary action when a student reported she had been touched, failed to report the complaints as required by law, and showed indifference to complaints of female students and their parents.

Hochschwender worked in the Radnor Township School District from 1993 to 2000, school officials said.

According to court documents, he resigned his previous job and temporarily left teaching after "credible complaints that he had inappropriately groped or touched several female students" came to light. No criminal charges were filed.

Hochschwender was hired by Southeast Delco in September 2006 as a fifth-grade teacher.

During the 2006-07 school year, a fifth grader told a guidance counselor and the principal that Hochschwender touched her and placed her hands on his lap, and that no action was taken. Another incident occurred in the 2011-12 school year and was reported to the district. In response, Hochschwender was transferred to the second grade, according to the lawsuit.

The two victims sustained "severe emotional distress and anxiety, depression and social withdrawal, including withdrawal from affectionate contact with parents and family members," the suit says. The assaults have affected their ability to learn, and they have received counseling, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, Williams said.

610-313-8111 @MariSchaefer