Former Archbishop Carroll teacher, Christopher Serpentine, pleaded guilty to sexual contact with a student in December 2021. Prosecutors claimed that he used his position as a teacher at Archbishop Carroll High School to gain the victim’s trust. News accounts state that the victim provided police with iPad messages between herself and the predator teacher. He first started grooming the victim by playing cell phone trivia games with her in the school library. The sexual contact occurred on and off school campus. His grooming behavior, use of electronics for contact with the student, meeting alone with the student for non academic reasons ,violated the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The sexual contact violated Pennsylvania law.
Fr Armand Garcia pleaded guilty to corruption of a minor and unlawful contact of a 16 year old altar server in October 2023. The crimes occurred when Garcia was assigned to Immaculate Heart of Mary parish. Prior to the crimes Garcia’s assignment record shows a one year leave of absence. In court the victim stated that she was “targeted, manipulated and raped to the very end of my contact with him.” News accounts detail the sexual contact occurring in the rectory and also at a private home owned by Garcia. The grooming behavior exhibited by Garcia, meeting alone with the teen in the rectory, driving alone in a car with the teen, taking her to a private home, violated the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The sexual assaults violated Pennsylvania law.
Another former Archbishop Carroll teacher, Jeremiah (Jeremy)Triplett, pleaded guilty to institutional sexual assault of a student in August 2019. News accounts relay that Triplett provided students with marijuana laced brownies and mini liquor bottles to a the victim and another juvenile. He allegedly allowed students to hang out with him in his classroom when class was not in session. Providing alcohol and drugs to students and inviting students to the classroom for non academic reasons violates the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The institutional sex charge (which took place in his classroom) violates Pennsylvania law. He was also charged with the drug charges when first arrested. Triplett was also the music director at St Katherine of Siena parish.
As woefully inadequate that the Standards in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia remain compared to the updated policies of other dioceses, the grooming behavior exhibited by these men did violate the existing policy. In the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, clergy, staff, and volunteers are required to attend Safety Environment Training . It is there that they are instructed in the Standards. I went to the training in 2006 and never heard about the Standards ever again. One and done. Catholics4Change has advocated for years that a link to the Standards be included on the home page of every parish and school website. That a link be included on school email and youth parish activity communication.
For many years Catholics4Change has advocated that the Standards be updated. That the legal preamble introduction that only exists in our diocese be removed. The term “minor” needs to be defined as someone under 18 or someone still in high school. The Delegate of Investigations, John Delaney, did not even understand that an 18 year old high school student should be protected by the Standards. Claiming in one violation “some of these kids are 18.” Our efforts to change word of “minor’ in the Standards began in 2018. We asked to have it read “under the age of 18 years old or an 18 year old still in high school.” It has been eight years of this simple request only to find out that other dioceses already include our exact suggested wording. What we are forced to advocate for and be ignored is already standard policy in other dioceses
We have advocated to, Leslie Davila, of OCYP of the Archdiocese that the students should be taught the Standards in the yearly Safe Environment classes. The students do not even know that Archdiocese personnel cannot interact with them online, such as the teacher at Archbishop Carroll beginning to groom the student by playing cell phone trivia games with her. Grooming starts small, often appearing as behavior that anyone would engage. The adult is knowingly violating the Standards. The student is clueless that there are even rules that the adult is supposed to be adhering to. Davila claims that the students are not instructed in the Standards because “The Standards are taught to adults since it is the expectation that the adult will follow the policy.” This is completely backwards thinking in child safety. Child predators do not follow church rules or even laws. The more informed that students are about the rules that an adult is violating, the safer they will be.
A victim of sexual assault as an adult by a Philly priest asked that we advocate that anyone receiving spiritual counseling be given a copy of the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries before counseling begins. Adults also are victims of grooming and sexual abuse in the Archdiocese. She feels that had she known of the rules that the priest was supposed to follow in their counseling, that she may have been spared from the abuse. This simple suggestion also has not been implemented as far as we know.
What are the consequences to trained staff in the Archdiocese who do not report violations that they observe? No one saw Triplett having lunch with students in his classroom? No one saw Serpentine with a student playing cell phones games in the school library? No one saw Garcia meeting with the teen in the rectory? Or driving away in his car? Nobody ? That is hard to believe. There are no consequences.
There are not even consequences to Archdiocese personnel who violate the Standards. A priest who the Review Board found had credibly violated the technology rules by friending minors on Facebook was simply allowed to “delete” the students and a few weeks later even chaperoned a trip out of the country. No parental notification to the “deleted” students’ parents that their child had been the target of a violation. Parents are not even part of the equation in the Charter for Child Protection of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. How many times are parents even mentioned in the Charter? zero? Our readers will always remember what Archdiocese spokesperson Ken Gavin said when it was exposed that a child predator priest was secretly left as pastor during a year long investigation. He claimed that “pertinent parties” at the parish were informed of the allegations against the pastor. That did not include the parents. How much clearer can they be that your child’s safety is in their hands…not yours.
It’s not always a comfortable situation when you feel that something might be ‘off” about an adult who interacts or works with kids. Maybe there are not direct violations that you have witnessed to report, but instead have an uncomfortable or uneasy feeling about their behavior Well, other dioceses also now have that covered in their Standards It gives the diocese a heads up that there could be a problem. Not in Philly, of course.
There is a saying in life “now is not the time” when one is unprepared for something. Archbishop Perez has decided that now is the time to recruit youth to the Catholic Church of Philadelphia whose track record of recognizing or stopping grooming behavior before it escalates is abysmal. Nothing has changed in the Archdiocese since these crimes occurred. Nothing has been improved in the Archdiocese since these crimes. Nothing
Christopher Serpentine was sentenced to 30 months probation and is a registered Tier 2 Megan’s Law offender.
Fr Armand Garcia served one year in prison and is a registered Tier 2 Megan’s Law offender.
Jeremiah (Jeremy) Triplett was sentenced to three to nine months in prison and is a registered Tier 2 Megan’s Law offender.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia continues to endanger children and laity
Up Next: How will the Trust and Hope digital missionaries and” brand ambassadors” ensure that they are not violating the Standards in online evangelization and recruiting.
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