2 weeks Ago By By PATRICK CLOONAN [email protected]
A former Homer-Center security officer and Vandergrift police sergeant has waived his preliminary hearing on charges that he had sex with a minor in 1991, more than three decades before he was employed at Homer-Center. Former Vandergrift Sgt. Anthony DePanicis Jr.
was charged in February with a first-degree misdemeanor count of corruption of minors. State police at Troop A, Kiski Valley, said Depanicis allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old in August 1991, when DePanicis was 25 years old. His preliminary hearing before Allegheny Township (Westmoreland County) Magisterial District Judge Cheryl J.
Peck-Yakopec had been postponed three times before he waived that hearing. DePanicis remains free on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Homer-Center Superintendent Ralph Cecere Jr.
said in February that DePanicis began working as a security officer with the district in September 2024. Cecere said at the time that DePanicis was fired from that position “as soon as we learned of the arrest.” He went on to assure “students, parents, staff and the entire community that this is entirely unrelated to our school, our students and our operations.
” Cecere said in February that Homer-Center is fully cooperating with state police as they continue to investigate the incident. “We understand that situations like this can raise concerns,” the Homer-Center superintendent said, “and we want to reassure everyone that we remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for our students and staff.” For DePanicis, his next scheduled day in court will be a formal arraignment in Greensburg on May 28 at 8:30 a.
m. before Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan A. Bilik-DeFazio.
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