Special education teacher charged with sex assault of students at Burlington County elementary school
Vincent Root, 58, of Philadelphia, worked at Chatsworth Elementary School. He was taken into custody Thursday morning, prosecutors said.
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A 58-year-old Philadelphia man has been charged with sexually assaulting students while working as a special education teacher in Burlington County.
Vincent Root, who taught at Chatsworth Elementary School, was taken into custody Thursday morning at the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office in Mount Holly and was being held pending a detention hearing.
School district officials said Root has been placed on administrative leave and has been banned from school property, Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia L. Bradshaw said in a news release.
“The investigation began last month after a student came forward and accused Root of touching him inappropriately during previous school years,” Bradshaw said.
“The investigation revealed that the victims, all of whom are male, were touched in classrooms inside the school building,” Bradshaw said. “The investigation further revealed that the abuse occurred over a multiyear period.”
Root was charged with seven counts of sexual assault and seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child.