Convicted Murderer Who Was a Counselor Is Arrested in Assault of Boy, 6

NEW YORK — A convicted murderer who worked as a counselor at a center for foster children in Manhattan was arrested Monday on charges that he assaulted a 6-year-old boy in his care, according to a criminal complaint.

The counselor, Jacques Edwards, 55, is accused of pushing the boy into a door and then shoving him inside a filing cabinet. Edwards was charged with two counts of assault and one count of endangering the welfare of a child for the episode that occurred at 12.35 p.m. Friday at 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 was hired to care for children at the center with his violent criminal history.

Edwards has worked for the Administration for Children’s Services, the city’s child welfare agency, for more than four years, officials said.

Marisa Kaufman, a spokeswoman for the child welfare agency, said in a statement, “Our top priority is the safety and well-being of New York City’s children, and as soon as this employee’s actions came to our attention we immediately removed him from duty and alerted law enforcement.”

Kaufman said privacy laws prohibited her from giving specifics about Edwards’ employment. He has been suspended without pay, and the agency is conducting an investigation into his hiring. According to the agency, Edwards would not be hired under new vetting policies put in place after he was hired.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Edwards 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.

He worked at Crossroads, a juvenile detention center in Brooklyn, said Jacqui Pharr-Edwards, Edwards’ wife.

“The situation did not happen as they are reporting it,” she said.

She said her husband is in jail.

“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.”