Plum police Officer Scott Ricketts has been selected as the new school resource officer at Plum High School.
Officer Ricketts, who has been on the Plum force since June 2003, will replace Mark Kost, the former school resource officer who retired in June.
Police documents have shown that Officer Kost in late January received a report from high school Principal Ryan Kociela concerning an inappropriate relationship between a female student and science teacher Jason Cooper. That report led to charges of institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors against Mr. Cooper, who later also faced witness intimidation charges after he contacted his alleged victim.
Shortly after Mr. Cooper's arrest, Plum High School English teacher Joseph Ruggieri was also arrested and charged with institutional sexual assault and other charges in connection with a relationship with a different female student.
After those arrests, Officer Kost was reassigned to the junior high school and resource Officer Joseph Little, who had been stationed at the junior high, was assigned to the high school.
Plum police Chief Jeffrey Armstrong said Officer Ricketts will be assigned to the high school when classes start in the fall and Officer Little will return to the junior high.
Officer Ricketts was chosen from among four officers who applied for the job, Chief Armstrong said.
He was interviewed by both police and school officials.
Chief Armstrong said police and school officials agreed that Officer Ricketts was the best fit for the job.
"I think one benefit he has is that he was born and raised in Plum and did attend the high school. I think the kids will relate to an individual who grew up here and went to school here," Chief Armstrong said.
Plum superintendent Timothy Glasspool said Officer Ricketts’ background and service are “a good match for this position. I was specifically impressed with his Naval security assignments, work in the state’s maximum-security penitentiary, and 12 years of experience with our local department. His expertise in facility security, incident mitigation, and protection of human assets will serve our students and staff well."
Mary Niederberger: mniederberger@post-gazette.com.
First Published: July 15, 2015, 6:29 p.m.