A Lebanon father s grossly negligent behavior contributed to the death of his 2-month-old daughter, county prosecutors said.
Jack Ponicki Sr. was arrested April 14 on charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and child endangerment, according to the Lebanon County District Attorney s Office. Officials said the child s unsafe sleeping and living conditions contributed to her death.
In June 2019, Ponicki placed his twin children down to sleep in a bassinet on top of an adult sized pillow in the 1100 block of Lehman Street, with several blankets and stuffed animals also in the bassinet. Ponicki is alleged to have claimed to have pulled a blanket up to the chest s of the infants and left them to go downstairs, officials said in a press release. Ponicki was later alerted to the cries of the sibling and found the female infant cold to the touch and face down upon the pillow.
For much of 2020, COVID-19 forced many people to remain at home, quarantined and isolated, to keep the disease from spreading.
Between late February and mid-March of 2020 hotline tips to ChildLine, Pennsylvania’s 24-hour hotline, fell from 17,693 calls to 9,068, according to data provided by the state Department of Human Services. When schools closed and daycares closed, child abuse reports to ChildLine in Pennsylvania and across the United States dropped precipitously, said Dr. Lori Frasier, a Penn State Center for the Protection of Children. The concern was that these mandatory reporters weren t there to see if children were being harmed.
Lebanon County Children and Youth services received 2,328 total reports of child abuse and neglect in 2020, according to county officials.
Annville resident Michelle Gerber said she still gets a disturbing feeling when she drives past the Schollenberger home.
In May, Annville Township Police and members of the Lebanon County Detective Bureau found the body of 12-year-old Maxwell Schollenberger in the second-floor room of the house on South White Oak Street.
Describing the alleged actions of the Schollenberger parents as disgusting, Gerber s morning commute takes her past the home most days. Yet even months later, she can t help but wonder if there was something she could have done to alert authorities to Max s condition. Was there something that I should have been looking out for? Maybe a clear sign that they were abusing this boy? she said. Was there something more I could do?
With two local child abuse cases getting national attention, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf says residents have wanted to be proactive with the problem. Every child deserves to be safe, she said Thursday. Every little boy and girl deserves to be safe when he or she goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning.
In February, prosecutors filed 20 felony charges against Stephanie Angelette Duncan, 42, and her husband, Robert John Duncan, 44, of the 2700 block of Cedar Run Road.
The Duncans calculated and prolonged abuse included physical punishment, depriving the children of food, water, heat and bathroom privileges, and trying to cover up their crimes, according to prosecutors.
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Five children, ages 6 to 15, described horrific patterns of abuse at the hands of Robert and Stephanie Duncan.
Lebanon Daily News
This is what is known about the case, based on information in court documents, a news release from the Lebanon County District Attorney’s office, and other reporting:
Abuse reported
The Duncans’ 11-year-old son was rushed to Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in mid-January after he was found to be unresponsive and hypothermic.
Medical staff determined bruises to the child’s neck, shoulders, back, abdomen, hip and genitals were not consistent with accidental injury and reported in injuries to authorities.