HARRISBURG — Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that a former Lackawanna County police officer, who served as a school resource officer at West Scranton High School, was convicted of 29 charges regarding sexual abuse of students years ago.
Following a four-day trial, a Lackawanna County jury on Thursday afternoon convicted 50-year-old Stephen J. Carroll of rape and 28 other offenses. Bail was revoked.
According to testimony, Carroll hosted some of the victims at his home, where they were provided alcohol. The abuse happened there and, on at least one occasion, at school while Carroll was in police uniform.
The crimes happened in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Carroll will be sentenced on a later date.
“This verdict is not about the predator who committed these heinous acts, but the survivors of this abuse — who, for years, lived knowing that their abuser was free in the community,” Attorney General Sunday said. “While it does not lessen the severity of the conduct or impact on the survivors, the passage of time can present challenges in court. Given this, we are very pleased that the jurors paid close attention to the facts in this case.”
“I commend Trooper McGrath and the Pennsylvania State Police for their tenacious work on this case, and my prosecution team for winning a hard-earned verdict.”
In 2024, following a presentment by the 52nd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Robert McGrath, of PSP’s Organized Crime Unit, filed charges.
Among the other charges Carroll was convicted of were involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and statutory sexual assault.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorneys General Maggie Hayes-Oberst and Helen Park.
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