The Roundup

A weekly tab of what's
going on in the courts.

By Shealyn Kilroy
For BigTrial.net

Christopher Haas

A Villanova professor has been charged with possession of hundreds of child pornography images, according to Radnor Township police.

Christopher Haas, 60, an Associate Professor of History and Classical Studies, was charged with 415 counts of sexual child abuse. David Tedjeske, Villanova Director of Public Safety, says the university monitors its networks for illegal and suspicious activity and that is how they were alerted of Haas' activity, 6abc reports.

“A faculty member in the history and classical studies department accessed child pornography from a computer in the common area of an office in the Saint Augustine Center in the center of campus,” Tedjeske said.

Homeland Security had been conducting an ongoing investigation since 2012 after receiving information that Haas’ was accessing on child porn on his home computer. Haas' arraignment is scheduled for April 27.


Philadelphia District Attorney:

Steven Simminger

Steven Simminger who stabbed another man to death allegedly over a hockey cap is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 30, according to the District Attorney’s office. Simminger, 40, of Blackwood, N.J., is charged with murder and other related offenses. Around 3 a.m. on March 13, police say Bucks County man Colin McGovern, 24, who was with three friends, began to poke fun at Simminger’s, 40, of Blackwood, N.J., New Jersey Devils hat. The comment turned into a verbal altercation that turned into a physical brawl between the two men. Simminger then took out a knife and began stabbing McGovern in the chest. McGovern was later pronounced dead. Knives were found in bushes near the scene of the stabbing days later.


Sixteen years ago, a jury had deliberated for only three hours to decide that Daniel Dougherty was guilty of arson that killed his two young sons. The case is being retried, and the jury has deliberated for a day and a half and will pick up Monday. The judge gathered the jurors in the courtroom on April 1 and asked how they were doing, reports Philly.com. The jurors had a question for the judge: Could they have a definition of reasonable doubt?
And back to deliberating they went.

Edward Sawicki

The trial of Philadelphia Police Officer Edward Sawicki is scheduled to begin on March 31, according to the District Attorney’s office. Sawicki is charged with possession weapon, making terroristic threats, assault and other related offenses related to an incident that occurred on Oct. 20, 2013. The nine-year veteran of the force allegedly backed up into Lamar Fouse, 37, on 1300 block of South 9th Street around 2:45 a.m. When Fouse went to alert the officer that he had hit him, Sawicki got out of his car, flashed a gun, made racial slurs and threatened to kill Fouse. according to a spokeswoman from the D.A.’s office. Sawicki surrendered himself on April 2, 2014, according to Philly.com.

New Jersey Attorney General:

Three men plead guilty to human trafficking charges on March 28, according to the Attorney General’s office. In the spring of 2015, Michael A. McLeod, 25, of Jersey City, N.J., David Powell Jr., 29, of Jersey City,  N.J., and Demetrius James Hayward, 20, of Summerville, South Carolina had been advertising photos of the victim, a 14-year-old runaway, as a female escort on backpage.com. Along with the 14-year-old victim, another 18-year-old victim was being prostituted out by these men. McLeod, the “boss” of the ring, held a gun to the head of the older victim and threatened to kill her.
Each of the victims had paid sex with over 10 people a day, and the average $800 made each day was collected by McLeod. Because McLeod kept most of the money to himself and kept it from the victims, Hayward and Powell brought food to the girls or took them out to eat. Along with Powell, Hayward, Tyree D. Jeter, 28, of Jersey City is the fourth defendant whose alleged role was to control the girls when boss McLeod was not around and ensure the girls couldn’t leave. The charges against Jeter are still pending. McLeod could see 18 years in prison with four years of parole ineligibility. Powell could spend six years in state prison, and Hayward may spend five years in state prison.


Shealyn can be reached at shealyn@bigtrial.net