Stephen Carroll, of Scranton, was accused of sexual acts with children while working as a school resource officer at West Scranton High School

SCRANTON, Pa. — Former Scranton Police Officer Stephen Carroll sat still and ramrod straight at the defense table inside a Lackawanna County Courtroom on Monday. A day years in the making arrived.

Prosecutors with the state attorney general’s office said the former West Scranton High School school resource officer “used his uniform as a mask” to lure in and exploit five young men over several years. His attorneys, meanwhile, acknowledged he made mistake, but claimed the state’s case was overblown.



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Two years after charges alleging he sexually abused children under his care, a jury is now set to decide his fate.

Newswatch 16 does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Maggie Hayes-Oberst told jurors that Carroll, who is not related to Police Chief Thomas Carroll, exploited his victims physically, mentally and emotionally during his time stationed at West Scranton High School several years ago. She said the prosecution will present to the jury several victims, law enforcement testimony and medical experts to pierce a case built around “keeping secrets.”

Carroll’s attorney, Jillian Kochis, said Carroll made “mistakes” — he should not have provided teenagers alcohol at his house — but the state will not be able to prove he sexually abused children. Kochis asked members of the jury to call into question the reliability of the witnesses and that the allegations in the case reach back years — some more than a decade.

Prosecutors called their first victim to the stand, who testified Carroll attended drinking parties with high school students when the victim said he was a sophomore or junior between 2006 and 2010. Carroll, he said, was the “a cool cop.”

Carroll paid him for chores, like yard work. Then things turned sexual when Carroll offered money to give him a massage. It escalated from there, he testified. He wanted the money to feed a drug addiction.

While questioning the victim, Kochis called up his statements to police to try and show he’s been inconsistent in telling his story. For example, in one interview with authorities, he said that the abuse happened when he was in his early 20s. In another statement, days later, he said the abuse happened when he was in his teens.

The trial continues Tuesday at 10 a.m.