School guard charged with sex assault on underage student in Delco

A 35-year-old man employed as a school security guard in Delaware County has been charged with sex crimes involving an underage girl who attended schools where he worked, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer announced Tuesday.

L’Toray Hill was arrested last week and charged with three counts of institutional sexual assault, indecent assault with a person less than 16 years old, and related offenses.

Hill, who worked for the William Penn School District when the alleged crimes were committed, was released after posting 10 percent of his $75,000 bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 3.

Hill’s lawyer, Derek Alan Steenson of Philadelphia, declined to comment on the case and said that Hill, who lives in Sharon Hill, no longer works for the district.

(On Wednesday, Jan. 27, the district issued a statement saying Hill had been suspended with pay and was “without access to [d]istrict resources, pending investigation of these allegations.” The district said that it learned about the allegations on Tuesday, and that Hill had been an employee since September 2006. The district urged anyone with information “regarding any such conduct” to contact the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office.)

Investigators first spoke to the complainant at her mother’s Darby Borough home in November. The girl, who was 19 in November, said she met Hill when she was 8 years old and in third grade at Walnut Street Elementary School. She saw Hill as a “father figure,” according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Hill took a special interest in her over the years and on unspecified occasions called her “his wife and his girl,” and said “you’re all mine” and “no one else can have you,” the affidavit says. Hill also allegedly promised to marry her.

When the girl was 14 he tried to kiss her on the mouth and she rebuffed him, the affidavit says.

When she turned 16, that summer she and her younger brother volunteered at a day care in Sharon Hill where Hill also worked as a summer camp counselor and teacher.

His alleged advances got aggressive and she again rebuffed him, but on a bus trip returning from the Jersey Shore he molested her, the affidavit says.

She told investigators that she was still 16 when she became involved in a “dating situation” with Hill that involved sexual intercourse and lasted more than a year. The sex acts occurred at several district properties, including Penn Wood Elementary School, according to the affidavit.

The illegal encounters ended in November 2018 after Hill “became too controlling and jealous,” she told investigators.

“This case provides a classic example of the grooming behavior that often accompanies child sexual assault,” Stollsteimer said in a statement.

“The perpetrator used his position of authority to exploit the vulnerabilities of a young child. Over the years, he manipulated and abused this victim psychologically as well as physically. We deeply appreciate her willingness to step forward and share her story. In doing so, we hope that she has protected other potential victims from the actions of this defendant,” Stollsteimer said.