GREENSBURG, Pa. — Four additional former Greensburg Salem School District employees face felony charges in a child endangerment investigation that started in October 2023.
Three of the four former employees of Nice Elementary School were arraigned together Monday morning by Magistrate Judge Chris Flanigan.
Lorraine Robertson, Derek Hines, and Amanda Lehman were all released on a $45,000 unsecured bond.
“Clearly, these are very serious charges,” said Greensburg Police Chief Chuck Irvin.
Police said all four former employees helped restrain students with special needs in Brooke Stanko and Terri Kepchia’s classroom with a roll-up room divider at their request.
>> Greensburg Salem School District employees accused of restraining 3 children appear in court
Sometimes, the children could not move while rolled up in that divider.
Police say they didn’t report that or report when Stanko and Kepchia allegedly sprayed lemon juice and later soap into a child’s mouth.
“I think the expectations placed upon these people who are good people, trying to do good things for these children have become unrealistic,” said Michael Ferguson, Robertson’s attorney.
Ferguson said Robertson, who was a contracted employee at Greensburg Salem through Family Behavioral Resources as a behavioral health technician, did nothing wrong.
“It’s very easy for Monday morning quarterbacks to come in and say, ‘You should have done this, you should have done that.’ They’re not the ones on the field getting hit,” Ferguson said.
Lawyers for both Hines and Lehman made similar remarks.
Hines and Lehman testified against Stanko and Kepchia at their hearing earlier this year.
“Quite frankly we’re very disappointed that she’s now facing a felony charge,” said Lehman’s attorney, Michael DeMatt. “We don’t feel that that’s an appropriate charge in this matter and we’ll see what we’re going to do with those charges.”
“This is a stellar individual,” Hines’ attorney, Francis Murrman said. “He never should’ve been charged, and we look forward to vindicating him at trial.”
A fourth former employee, Lauren Byrne-Houser, is also facing charges. A different magistrate will arraign her, as Judge Flanigan recused herself from hearing Byrne-Houser’s case.
In a statement to Channel 11, Kenneth Bissell, the Greensburg Salem superintendent, said the district was made aware of the new charges, and said in part, “Any employee or contracted employee was permanently removed from Greensburg Salem classrooms” when the allegations came to light in October.
“The incident was very disturbing, and that’s why our investigators took immediate action to protect them,” Irvin said. “I think the school district did what it needed to do once it became aware of the issue.”
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