According to a police complaint obtained by LebTown, a possible confession has already been obtained of the man accused of inappropriate sexual contact with a couple of male students in a third grade reading program at Northwest Elementary School.
The complaint says that the video was taken March 18, 2019. By March 22, 2019, the defendant, Richard B. Hollinger, was in an interview room at the Lebanon City Police Department. According to the complaint, Hollinger admitted to the inappropriate sexual contact that took place while he was a volunteer.
The Lebanon County Detective Bureau announced last Friday that it had charged 74 year old Hollinger of Cornwall with offenses related to child sexual assault.
Police allege that Hollinger assaulted two young male students at Northwest Elementary School in March 2019 while a volunteer in a third grade reading program there.
The boys, ages 8 and 11, were each individually with the man for one-on-one reading instruction, according to the release. The alleged crimes came to light when the 11 year old student informed the school of inappropriate contact, after which they identified the 8 year old victim using video surveillance footage of the classroom. The interview with Hollinger followed the officer viewing the video footage provided by Lebanon School District School Resource Police Officers.
Hollinger has a preliminary hearing scheduled for 8am May 30 in front of Magisterial District Judge Maria M. Dissinger. Here are the charges he faces.
18 § 3124.2 §§ A.21 F3 School – Intercourse/Sexual Contact with Student 03/18/2019
18 § 3124.2 §§ A.21 F3 School – Intercourse/Sexual Contact with Student 03/18/2019
18 § 3126 §§ A7 M1 Indecent Assault Person Less than 13 Years of Age 03/18/2019
18 § 3126 §§ A7 M1 Indecent Assault Person Less than 13 Years of Age 03/18/2019
18 § 4304 §§ A1 M1 Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense 03/18/2019
18 § 4304 §§ A1 M1 Endangering Welfare of Children – Parent/Guardian/Other Commits Offense 03/18/2019
18 § 6301 §§ A1ii F3 Corruption Of Minors – Defendant Age 18 or Above 03/18/2019
18 § 6301 §§ A1ii F3 Corruption Of Minors – Defendant Age 18 or Above 03/18/2019
The Lebanon School District also released a statement on the charges. The statement said that the volunteer was immediately restricted from Lebanon School District property and prohibited from contact with students. Find the full statement below.
Lebanon School District Statement
The Lebanon School District was made aware that criminal charges have been filed against a District Volunteer. The accused volunteered at Northwest Elementary School. The District is both saddened and angered by this news, as the District shares everyone’s desire to keep all children safe.
When the District learned of the alleged acts, school administration immediately contacted local law enforcement and the statewide child protective services program known as ChildLine to report the incident.
More importantly, the accused was immediately restricted from all District properties and prohibited from having any contact with students pending the outcome of the investigation.
The Lebanon School District has fully cooperated with both investigations (law enforcement and ChildLine) and will continue to do so.
The District commends those who brought the information to the attention of school administration, and we thank our local police department and the District Attorney’s office for their swift investigation and action.
Per District policy, all volunteers must submit current State and Federal clearances before being approved to volunteer in school buildings. In this circumstance, the District did maintain full and complete clearances for the accused.
At this time, the District will have limited ability to comment further on the matter as it is under the review and authority of local law enforcement.
Above all, the District will remain dedicated to maintaining the safety and well- being of its students, and it will continue to strictly assure that all individuals within the District who have contact with students, are properly cleared to do so.
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I am ashamed to know that there are people out there that are supposed to be teaching and protecting our children and they end up being a stalker. I want to know why / what makes these people tick. I think the schools need to look more deeper into their backgrounds ! God Bless those children ; I am so happy he got caught ; I wonder how many other times he did this dirty deed ?