Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw announced the arrest of a special education teacher from Chatsworth Elementary School, charged with sexually touching seven students.
Vincent Root, 58, a resident of Carpenter Street in Philadelphia, faces “seven counts of Sexual Assault (Second Degree) and seven counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (Second Degree).” Root was arrested at the Prosecutor’s Office in Mount Holly yesterday and is currently held at the Burlington County Jail, awaiting a detention hearing in Superior Court.
The investigation was initiated last month when a student accused Root of inappropriate touching during previous school years. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the victims were all male students and that the abuse took place in classrooms within the school. The evidence gathered also indicated that the abuse occurred “over a multi-year period,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
District officials have stated that Root has been “placed on administrative leave and has been banned from school property.” The case is now being prepared for presentation to a grand jury for potential indictment.