ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 City Council member and state House candidate Ce-Ce Gerlach is publicly addressing the 2021 child endangerment charges that surfaced weeks before Allentown\u2019s mayoral primary.<\/p>\n
In an interview with independent journalist Ben Stemrich, Gerlach said she is finally able to speak openly about what she described as a painful and misunderstood episode tied to her work as a homeless outreach caseworker.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor years, I couldn\u2019t speak openly about what really happened,\u201d Gerlach said. \u201cThis experience was never just about me, but about a system that is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach was charged in June 2021 after taking a 16-year-old runaway to a homeless encampment known as Tent City. The teen later reported witnessing violence and being solicited for sex. Prosecutors said Gerlach, a mandated reporter, failed to notify police or child welfare services in a timely manner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigation revealed that Gerlach failed to contact either the Allentown Police Department or Lehigh County Children and Youth and instead took him to the homeless encampment,\u201d then-District Attorney Jim Martin said after the charges were filed.<\/p>\n
At a hearing the following year, prosecutors withdrew the charge of endangering the welfare of a child, and Gerlach entered Lehigh County\u2019s accelerated rehabilitative disposition program \u2014 or ARD \u2014 on a lesser misdemeanor for failure to report. The program, often used for first-time offenders, allowed her to avoid a criminal conviction and eventually clear her record upon completion.<\/p>\n
Gerlach emphasized that she followed the procedures she was trained to use at the time and said her supervisor made the same decision with another client the following day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were no good solutions,\u201d she said. \u201cThe decision I made isn\u2019t an indictment on my judgment \u2014 it\u2019s an indictment on a broken system that put me and that young man in an impossible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach said she took the ARD deal only after exhausting her savings on legal costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ran out of money,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted to fight because I knew I would be found not guilty, but I couldn\u2019t afford to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach said she is relieved that the teen, now an adult, seems to be doing well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not a monster,\u201d she said. \u201cAll I\u2019ve ever tried to do is help people who are navigating broken systems. I want to use this experience to fix the policies that failed us both.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gerlach\u2019s 2021 arrest came a month before the Democratic mayoral primary, where she was a candidate. She has since continued serving on City Council and is now running for the 22nd District seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.<\/p>\n
She said she hopes being able to tell her story directly will allow voters to move past the rumors and focus on her record.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people have questions, they can call me or email me,\u201d Gerlach said. \u201cI\u2019m ready to have conversations \u2014 finally.\u201d<\/p>\n