Senate Bill 102, supported by Beau Biden Foundation, develops training program for educators, school staff

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday signed into law Senate Bill 102, legislation supported by the Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children that develops a coordinated training program for educators to detect and prevent child abuse.  The bill consolidates Delaware law to improve child sexual abuse training and detection, suicide prevention, anti-bullying programs, criminal youth gang detection, and teen dating violence and sexual assault prevention.

Senate Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry sponsored the bill, which passed the General Assembly with unanimous, bipartisan support. It applies to all public schools, including charter schools, and vocational school districts.

“Beau Biden had a deep and unyielding commitment to protecting children from abuse, and I am honored to continue supporting his mission by signing this legislation into law,” said Governor Carney. “I cannot think of any job more important than protecting children. Educators who work every day with Delaware students are in a unique position to help detect warning signs, and act to prevent abuse. This law will help them do that by developing a program to coordinate training, and allowing schools the flexibility to tailor training to the needs of their students. Thank you to Senator Henry, and everyone who made this law a reality, including everyone at the Beau Biden Foundation.”

“Our schools are places of learning, but they also provide vital services to our kids,” said Senate Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, D-Wilmington East. “It’s on all of us to recognize and intervene in bullying, youth violence, child abuse, and teen depression, but it’s clear that our schools are a critical part of that fight. Senate Bill 102 builds on the great work of groups like the Beau Biden Foundation by ensuring that public and charter school employees across Delaware are capable of recognizing signs of non-academic problems in a student’s life and intervening appropriately. At a minimum, these trainings will help improve our kids’ quality of life—and they could even save a life. I’m proud to have sponsored this legislation and I thank my colleagues and Governor Carney for their support.”

The Beau Biden Foundation for the Protection of Children, which advocated for the legislation, continues Beau’s lifelong commitment to protecting children from the threat of abuse and neglect. In 2011, Beau and his partners at the Delaware Department of Justice, Prevent Child Abuse Delaware and the Delaware YMCA pledged to train 5% of Delaware’s population in the only evidence informed child sexual abuse prevention program in the country – Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children. The Beau Biden Foundation continues to deliver the program, and to date, over 27,000 Delawareans have taken the training.

“We’re thrilled to see Senate Bill 102 signed in to law,” said Patty Dailey Lewis, Executive Director of the Beau Biden Foundation. “Delaware leads the nation in child sexual abuse prevention training. In the next few years, we will reach our goal of educating 5% of our population on ways to recognize the signs and symptoms of child sexual abuse, react responsibly when a child divulges they’ve been abused, and work to minimize opportunities for predators to harm children. Teachers and school staff are on the front lines of child protection – we stand ready to lead the way and assist them in fulfilling their training requirement.”

“By streamlining the non-academic trainings required by school district and charter school staff, Delaware is providing our state educators with additional flexibility and support,” said Dr. Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “Schools are now able to reduce the burden of having multiple, different trainings and can also mix and match their training to meet specific professional development needs. This is a win for all educators in the state.”

“As we strive to bring greater awareness to issues such as child abuse and neglect, bullying, teen dating violence, youth gangs and suicide prevention, we recognize that our community partners are on the frontline, helping us protect Delaware’s children every day,” said Josette Manning, Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families.  “Delaware has thousands of enthusiastic and dedicated educators, school nurses, and counselors, all of whom have frequent contact with our children and play key roles in keeping them safe.  Senate Bill 102 will provide one more tool to help them be the voice for our children. Working together, we can provide a brighter future for Delaware’s children.”

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Newport, DE – In his weekly message, filmed at Richey Elementary School , Governor Markell discusses the progress made in Delaware to ensure student safety in public schools through the implementation of comprehensive school safety plans.

“Our children and educators spend more than a third of their time in schools – time that is critical to ensuring our young people have the best chance to reach their potential,” said Governor Markell. “We all want to provide a safe and secure learning environment for our children and we have a sacred responsibility to be ready to respond when anything threatens it. By ensuring our schools are as prepared as possible for any circumstance, we will allow our school staff, teachers and students to remain focused on learning and educating, and that will keep Delaware moving forward.”
Every week, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

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Transcript of Governor’s Weekly Message: Promoting Effective Learning by Ensuring School Safety

Little Creek man charged with 10 counts of dealing in child pornography

DOVER – An Investigation of Internet child pornography by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force resulted in the arrest of a 64 year old Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn announced Thursday.

On Thursday, January 15, 2015, members of the Child Predator Task Force conducted a search warrant at 316 Main Street in Little Creek. The address is the home of Edward Angwin. The warrant allowed for a search of all computers and digital media at the home.

A forensic exam of Angwin’s computers turned up images of child pornography as defined by Delaware law.

Angwin was arrested and charged with 10 counts of dealing in child pornography, and committed to the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in lieu of $200,000 secured bond.

WILMINGTON – Christopher Wheeler, 54, was found guilty on Monday by a Delaware Superior Court judge of 25 counts of dealing in child pornography. The conviction was the result of an investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force, which Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden established in 2007.

Each count of dealing in child pornography carries a 2-year minimum mandatory sentence, meaning that Wheeler faces a minimum of 50 years in jail when he is sentenced in March by Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis.

Authorities obtained an arrest warrant Oct. 30, 2013 for Wheeler after Child Predator Task Force detectives recovered multiple images of child pornography on computers seized by investigators during an October 22, 2013, search of Wheeler’s Wilmington home and office.

Since its start in 2007, the Child Predator Task Force has been responsible for more than 200 convictions and the rescue of more than 120 children from abusive situations.

WILMINGTON – Deputy Attorneys General in the Department of Justice secure a number of important convictions, sentencings and other court rulings each week. The Department of Justice will send out recaps of key cases.  Here are the highlights from the week ending Friday, Nov. 14:

• Deputy Attorney General Mark Denney secured a conviction against Raheem Harris, 19 of Wilmington, on one count of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited. Harris, has a record of violent felonies and was on when he was arrested by Wilmington Police Department detectives. When he is sentenced, Harris faces up to 15 years in prison on the firearm conviction and will be sentenced on his violation of probation as well.

• Deputy Attorney Colleen Norris secured a 69-year sentence against career criminal Max Turner, 26, for a fatal 2012 shooting.  Norris secured convictions against Turner in June on second-degree murder, second-degree assault, first-degree reckless endangerment and weapons offenses. Superior Court Judge M. Jane Brady handed down the sentence.

• In Kent County Superior Court in a case stemming from an April bank robbery, Deputy Attorney General Jason Cohee secured a guilty plea from Mark T. Jones, of 46 S. Queen St. in Dover, on one count of first degree robbery. Because Jones has a lengthy criminal record that includes six prior felonies and 17 adult misdemeanors, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison under Delaware’s habitual offender laws. Jones was arrested in April by Dover Police and charged in connection with his role in the April 4 robbery of the Citizens Bank on Loockerman Street.

• Deputy Attorney General Matthew Frawley secured a guilty plea from Keenan Wheeler, 21, in New Castle County Superior Court on manslaughter and weapons charges. The charges that Wheeler pled guilty to carry a minimum of five years behind prison and the DOJ will be recommending that he be sentenced to 10 years in prison. The charges against Wheeler stem from a fatal July 13, 2013 shooting in the 600 block of W. Fourth Street.

• The Family Division’s Child Protection scored an important victory in the Delaware Supreme Court last week  in the case of Claudia Bailey v. DFS.  The parental rights of Claudia Bailey in three of her children were terminated by order of the Family Court.  The children came into DFS custody due to the death of a sibling.  The mother, Claudia Bailey, had been found by DFS to have medically neglected a sibling who had a seizure disorder.