City Investigates Hiring of Convicted Killer as Youth Counselor

NEW YORK — The Administration for Children’s Services is investigating the hiring of a convicted killer who worked as a counselor at a center for foster children in Manhattan and has been accused of assaulting a 6-year-old boy in his care.

The counselor, Jacques Edwards, 55, was charged Monday night with pushing the boy into a door and then shoving him headfirst into a filing cabinet, according to a criminal complaint. The assault was recorded by a security camera at 12:35 p.m. on Friday inside the Nicholas Scoppetta Children’s Center on First Avenue.

Edwards served 28 years in prison for murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property. He was released in 2010.

It was unclear how Edwards managed to get a job caring for children at the center with such a violent criminal history. He had worked for the child welfare agency for more than four years, officials said.

“We will get a thorough understanding of how that happened,” David Hansell, the agency’s commissioner, said at a news conference. “It’s obviously a very serious crime and we will review the circumstances under which he was hired.”

Edwards was arraigned Monday night in Manhattan Criminal Court on two counts of assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. A judge set bail at $15,000.

Officials at the city agency said they would do a review of other employees to ensure that others with violent criminal records have not been hired to work with children.

The agency’s current hiring rules disqualify applicants with a violent felony conviction from working with children. They also bar hiring people convicted of a felony sex crime or any felony within the previous 10 years.

Edwards was released from state prison in Otisville in 2010 after serving 28 years for his role in a fatal shooting in Brooklyn when he was 18 years old, authorities said. Neither the Brooklyn district attorney’s office nor the New York Police Department had additional information about the slaying.

Since his release on parole, Edwards has lived in the Richmond Hill and Jamaica neighborhoods in Queens with his wife. His attorney, Jean O’Hearn, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Hansell, who spoke to reporters outside of the Children’s Center Tuesday, said the agency had tightened its hiring practices in the last two years, making them much stricter for job candidates applying to work with children. He said Edwards would not have been hired under the new policies.

“We have to have higher standards, and we do,” he said. “We have a zero tolerance for violence against children.”

Candidates for positions that involve working with children must go through a background check conducted by the New York State Justice Center. A prior criminal conviction would bar employment for a position like the one Edwards held, he said.

Hansell said the agency also reviews each candidate to be sure that they have the temperament to work with children.

The agency will review the files of all staff who work with children in the Children’s Center and its juvenile detention centers, starting with employees who have been hired in the last five years. The review will expand to workers hired in previous years.

The agency’s investigation into Edwards will include a review of the former youth counselor’s file, employment history and other records.

Hansell said he met with the 6-year-old Tuesday and that the boy appeared to be recovering from the assault. He said the child was playing video games.

Outside of the Children’s Center Tuesday an employee and a 18-year-old resident at the facility who were familiar with Edwards described him as “nice” and said they were shocked to learn about the assault charge.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Edwards, who is 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, attended a theological seminary while in prison and worked as an office manager at a day care center after he was released. He was hired as a juvenile counselor by the child welfare agency in March 2014.

His wife, Jacqui Pharr-Edwards, said Edwards also had worked at Crossroads, a juvenile detention center in Brooklyn. She defended his actions Friday, saying “the situation did not happen as they are reporting it.”

“Mr. Edwards has had some health challenges in the last couple of years,” Pharr-Edwards said. “He’s a good person. He’s very supportive of his co-workers and his family. This situation does not define who he is. The criminal history that the media is sensationalizing does not define his character. He earned his job fair and square.”