This article is part of the continuing coverage of the, June 17, 2019 TalkWilliamsport.com Right To Know Law Records Request of the Williamsport Area School District in regard to the Millionaires Baseball team trip to Myrtle Beach during the 2017-2018 school year.
Within the responses offered, the Williamsport Area School District has previously confirmed both criminal and non-criminal investigations have been conducted in this matter.
As part of the documents requested were the invoices submitted by and paid t0 WASD Solicitor Fred Holland.
At least a pair of invoices exist and were provided here Holland Invoices.
What is interesting to note is the baseball team schedule as well as the Childline Call identified as being made on or about May 18, 2018.
May 24, 2018 – Williamsport defeats West Scranton at Bucknell University, 14-2 in Round 2 of the 2018 District II/IV Baseball 6A Sub-regional.
May 28, 2018 – Williamsport defeats Hazleton at PNC Park, 4-3 in the 2018 District II/IV Baseball 6A Sub-regional Final. The alleged perpetrator of the indecent and inappropriate behavior appears in numerous post-game team photos.
On June 4, 2018, WASD Solicitor Fred Holland submitted an invoice for services rendered of 0.80 hours and noted that a telephone conference occurred on May 31, 2018.
The telephone conference was referred to as “Investigation”, and included High School Principal Brandon Pardoe (who was on the trip to Myrtle Beach), Local Criminal Defense Attorney George Lepley, who Talk Williamsport has also confirmed was in Myrtle Beach for the Millionaires Baseball Team Trip and Holland who again referred to the call as “pending investigations”.
Is it standard practice for criminal defense attorneys to have conference calls with school administrators and a school solicitor with criminal and non-criminal investigations pending?
June 4, 2018 – Williamsport defeats Downingtown East at Central Columbia HS, 4-1 in the 2018 PIAA Baseball 6A First Round.
Holland submitted a second invoice on July 3, 2018 for a meeting that he attended on June 5, 2018 in regard to a VM (later identified by WASD as voicemail). The WASD has also stated that the voicemail record no longer exists.
Attending the June 5, 2018 meeting were Holland, Lepley and Pardoe and it lasted for 1.8 hours which is the billing total Holland submitted to the WASD.
June 7, 2018 – Bensalem defeats Williamsport at Pine Grove, Walter Stump Stadium 6-0, in the 2018 PIAA Baseball 6A Second Round.
Mr. Lepley took it upon himself to post this on the Talk Williamsport Facebook page this past Sunday while coaching the West End 13U team in Altoona: George E Lepley Jr, “This matter was reviewed by law enforcement in Myrtle Beach and found to NOT be appropriate for criminal prosecution. I don’t think you can get anymore independent than that.”
TalkWilliamsport.com asked Attorney Lepley on several occasions over the past 24 hours to clarify how he was aware Myrtle Beach authorities reviewed the case and chose NOT to pursue criminal prosecution of his client. There has yet to be a response from him on any of those questions.
TalkWilliamsport.com again, has independently confirmed a conversation occurred with Myrtle Beach law enforcement authorities with members of the Office of the Lycoming County District Attorney. That conversation was noted as the incident in question was “a prank”.
To date, the incident which was video recorded and subsequently shared on multiple social media platforms by a member of the Williamsport Millionaires Baseball team; Talk Williamsport has confirmed is still in the evidentiary custody of the Office of the Lycoming County District Attorney and has not been provided to Myrtle Beach law enforcement authorities who hold ultimate jurisdiction in the case.
If the handling of this matter is to be understood, on May 31, 2018 a meeting occurred followed within a week by another on June 4, 2018. That means more than 40 players, coaches and staff and countless parents had been interviewed by local law enforcement and school officials since an initial Child Line call of May 18, 2018.
That volume of interviews, in that time frame simply defies reality.
A number of law enforcement officials and attorneys within District IV have reached out to TalkWilliamsport.com over the past week and have offered assessments of the handling of this matter and have claimed it is quite out of the ordinary in their experience.
TalkWilliamsport.com will have additional information from the WASD responses provided in the coming days.
