Police chief again raises concerns about vocational school over sex assault investigation

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (WJAC) — The police chief of Upper Yoder Police Department is once again asking leaders at Hiram G. Andrews Center to sit down with him and local agencies after he said the state-run vocational school did not properly handle aspects of a sex assault investigation on-campus last month and his office is now investigating another on-campus sex assault case from last week.

Chief Donald Hess said HGAC staff on duty did not follow proper protocols Cambria County has set up to handle information from a sexual assault victim after police said they were called to investigate the allegations of an 18-year-old woman who said a man had inappropriately touched her in a rec room on October 10th.

"The staff member there immediately gave (the victim) a statement form and had them write a statement," Hess said. "They were in a common area in the lobby with other people around, which is not a good situation."

Hiram G. Andrews Center offers post-secondary education, pre-employment transition, and support services for those with disabilities and special needs and is run by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry. Up to 350 students can live on the 45-acre campus along Goucher Street, according to the department.

The campus is right next door to the Upper Yoder Township Municipal Building, which housed the police department.

Hess said in the days after the encounter, HGAC would not provide the woman, who is disabled and whose family lives out of town, a ride to a forensic interview at the Child Advocacy Center in Richland Township. He said that's something they had done in the past, but the staff at the CAC could not get in touch with anyone at HGAC.

"We then received a subsequent phone call from that (CAC) staff member and she was very upset because she stated she did speak to that (HGAC) counselor's supervisor and she described them as less than helpful."

Hess said that dragged out an investigation that should have taken a few days and extended it for nearly a month. He said the victim's mother was "irate" at how HGAC was handling the matter.

"Why did they wait so long with something so important?" said the victim's mother, who we are not identifying to avoid identifying her daughter. "I thought she would be safe, but oh boy was I wrong."

The Cambria County District Attorney's Office filed two counts of indecent assault last week against Echezona Azi, 24, of Philadelphia for his actions in the incident. Police said Azi admitted to investigators that he groped the victim despite her telling him to stop.

Hess previously expressed concern to 6 News in early 2019, after his department arrested eight students in two weeks in February. Shortly after our original story aired, police said they were investigating at least three sexual assault allegations over the span of a few weeks.

The chief had offered to meet with staff back then about those incidents and subsequently said he offered to have his department and Victim Services in Johnstown come in to provide learning opportunities for students and to provide proper training for staff. Hess said he had good initial meetings with HGAC leadership, but then they later went silent.

“(Victims Services) have never heard back,” Hess said.

In a statement to 6 News about the case and the allegations of inaction, Alex Peterson, Press Secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry said the department, "has implemented a variety of measures to protect students, including installation of call boxes, establishment of an anonymous tip line, organization of programming to teach about healthy relationships, and a requirement that students sign a Student Code of Conduct agreement."

Peterson said HGAC staff immediately contacted Upper Yoder Township police about the October 10th incident.

"Additional steps were taken over the following days to cooperate with law enforcement, provide support to the alleged victim and follow internal disciplinary protocol," Peterson said.

Hess said they're also now investigating a sexual assault allegation that happened on the HGAC campus last week involving a juvenile female student and a male student who identifies as female. Peterson said the matter is under review, but both he and Hess would not comment further citing the open investigation.

The mother of the victim from the October case said while her daughter still loves going to HGAC, she is having second thoughts about letting her stay there.

"If they are such a secure place, why is this stuff going on?" she said. "My daughter was not even up there for a month and this happened."

Hess said he won’t back down in his efforts to keep the school and the Upper Yoder community safe.

"We’re just looking to best serve their students and someone who is a victim of a crime," Hess said.

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