HARRISBURG, PA — A former Lackawanna County police officer who served as a school resource officer at West Scranton High School was convicted Thursday of rape and 28 other offenses involving the sexual abuse of students in the late 2000s and early 2010s, according to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.
A Lackawanna County jury convicted Stephen J. Carroll, 50, following a four-day trial. His bail was revoked after the verdict, and sentencing will be scheduled for a later date.
The convictions include rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and statutory sexual assault, the Attorney General’s Office reported.
Trial testimony showed that Carroll hosted some of the victims at his home, where they were provided alcohol, according to prosecutors. The sexual abuse occurred there and, on at least one occasion, at West Scranton High School while Carroll was wearing his police uniform, the Attorney General’s Office stated.
The conduct underlying the convictions occurred years before Carroll was charged. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Robert McGrath of the agency’s Organized Crime Unit filed charges in 2024 following a presentment by the 52nd Statewide Investigating Grand Jury.
Attorney General Dave Sunday pointed to the passage of time as a potential challenge in prosecuting the case and credited the survivors for reaching the verdict.
“This verdict is not about the predator who committed these heinous acts, but the survivors of this abuse — who, for years, lived knowing that their abuser was free in the community,” Sunday stated.
Sunday also credited McGrath and the Pennsylvania State Police for their investigation and the prosecution team for securing the convictions.
Senior Deputy Attorneys General Maggie Hayes-Oberst and Helen Park are prosecuting the case.
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