2 ex-counselors at Glen Mills Schools charged with assaulting teen

GLEN MILLS, Pa (WPVI) -- Two former counselors at a suburban Philadelphia reform school have been charged with assaulting a 17-year-old student.

Police say 34-year-old Patrick Jameson Raquet and 31-year-old Christopher Medina assaulted the teen on July 19.

Charges were filed Thursday against Medina, of Toughkenamon, and Raquet, of West Chester.

The boy reported being choked and body-slammed during the assault at the Glen Mills Schools for Boys in Delaware County.

State police say the 6'4" tall, 320 pound Medina slammed the student to the ground, and then allegedly used his entire body weight to apply pressure to the teen's elbow.

But the assault didn't stop there.

Next, police say, Raquet repeatedly punched the student in the head.

"As witnessed by about 30 people and recorded by several cameras, they literally beat the breath out of him," said Delaware County District Attorney Kat Copeland.

Surveillance video allegedly shows a group of 25 students were participating in a group project when an argument involving the victim began.

Police say that's when Medina launched an assault.

"Video surveillance shows Medina slapping the victim in the head several times, lifting the victim up from his seat and throwing him to the ground and punching him in the chest causing him to have difficulty breathing," said Lt. James Hennigan of the Pennsylvania State Police.

"Additional footage shows Raquet grabbing the victim by the face and punching the victim several times while the victim was seated on a couch in a different room," said Hennigan.

In response, the school released a statement reading in part:

"We promptly self-reported this incident to the Pennsylvania State Police. This isolated incident did not uphold our stringent ethical standards and protocols."

The two counselors have been terminated. Four other counselors were suspended as well.

Medina and Raquet have been released on $200,000 bail.

Glen Mills is the oldest reform school in the country and houses 383 boys ordered there by courts.

Philadelphia has stopped sending children who've committed crimes to Glen Mills since the assault accusations emerged last month.

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