WILKES-BARRE – Parents of Holy Redeemer students received a letter in the mail Saturday, notifying them that help is available for their kids.
The letter provided numbers of authorities, including the FBI, to report any further information on the sex abuse case in Wilkes-Barre, along with notice that counselors are available for students.
The former football coach at Holy Redeemer High School gave up his right to future hearings when he was arraigned on charges connected to the alleged molestation of a boy in the locker room last spring.
Joseph Ostrowski declined to answer any questions as he was led into the arraignment at a district magistrate’s courtroom, where he was arraigned on indecent assault, corruption of minors and manufacturing of child pornography charges that were filed on Wednesday.
Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis told Newswatch 16 that the investigation into Ostrowski is still open and that there could be other victims who have not come forward.
"It should scare a lot of parents, and people should be aware that these individuals are everywhere. They`re on the streets,” said Salavantis. "There should always be an open communication with their kids and tell their children if they ever feel something is being done inappropriately in a school, say in an after school activity of anything of that nature, to talk to their parents."
A spokesman for the Diocese of Scranton said Ostrowski passed all background checks when he was hired as football coach at Holy Redeemer High School and administrators are reviewing hiring and student supervision policies, in part because of the latest allegations of a student being molested in a locker room.
Diocese officials said guidance counselors were also made available to students on Thursday.
Ostrowski pleaded guilty in January to federal child pornography charges.
Prosecutors said Ostrowski will likely be sentenced on the federal child pornography charges first, and he will likely plead guilty to the latest set of charges again to avoid a trial.