Wade and the other student, Ahmad Williams Jr., then 15, were both charged. Hollis said he will represent Wade in criminal court and is also preparing a federal civil rights complaint against the district.
Braddock Borough Council president Tina Doose said she doesn’t believe her children can receive equitable treatment in the school district when Zappala backs the abusers.
“He is an enabler,” she said. “He has been an enabler of violence against our children.”
Alliance for Police Accountability Executive Director Brandi Fisher, who organized the protest, said her board may take the matter directly to the U.S. Attorney because Shapiro can only investigate at the request of the District Attorney, which she didn’t think was likely to happen.
“The District Attorney has abused his prosecutorial discretion in charging these young Black victims with crimes, and not charging grown White men,” she said. “We are asking the justice department to investigate his office for unequal application of the law. This is about our children. This is about violence against us all.”
Mike Manko, spokesman for Zappala, said the office could charge Golden III quickly because of a high number of calls to the ChildLine abuse hotline. He also said the office received ChildLine referrals for Wade and Williams Jr.
“As has been stated previously, those assets, both state and federal, are working on the situation in the Woodland Hills school district and any decisions involving child abuse will be based on the available evidence as well as any additional evidence developed during the investigation,” he said in a statement.
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Protestors demand DA Zappala recuse himself from Woodland Hills cases
