By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times

Pauline Bilinski-Munion

After investigators identified the source of heroin – distributed by a first-grader at Caln Elementary to at least one classmate on Friday, May 3 – as the child’s grandmother, county detectives took her into custody two days later, the District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday, May 6.

The arrest prompted Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan to criticize the response of the Coatesville Area School District (CASD) to the incident, suggesting “CASD and its solicitor completely failed in their duty to protect the children in their care.  CASD should be ashamed, and the parents of these children should be outraged.”

Hogan said county detectives led an “emergency investigation” that resulted in charges against Pauline Bilinski-Munion, 56, of Modena, for endangering the welfare of children and drug offenses. She was taken to Chester County Prison to await a Thursday, May 8, preliminary hearing after failing to post $25,000 cash bail, court records said.

Nine bags of heroin were in the possession of a Caln Elementary School first-grader on Friday, District Attorney Tom Hogan said.

Bilinski-Munion, a heroin user, left the drugs out in her home while taking care of her grandchildren, and her 7-year-old grandson found some of the heroin, brought it into Caln Elementary School, and distributed it to at least one other student, Hogan said.

“Heroin in an elementary school is a nightmare,” said Hogan.  “Any exposure to heroin for a young child is likely to result in death.  The defendant is lucky that she was not responsible for the death of her own grandson or somebody else’s child.”

According to the criminal complaint, a teacher at Caln Elementary heard that one of the students had drugs and spoke with the child Friday morning.  Nine bags of heroin – stamped “Victoria Secret” – in the boy’s pants pocket were given to the school principal. The child initially claimed that he found the drugs in the schoolyard, but later admitted that he brought them from home.  The drugs were turned over to the Coatesville Area School District (CASD) police, the complaint said.

Hogan, who said he learned about the incident on Saturday, May 3, from media reports, assigned Chester County Detectives Joe Nangle, Kristin Lund, and Robert Balchunis to the case.The detectives interviewed the child with some relatives, Hogan said, adding that the child usually stays with his aunt in Coatesville, but recently had been living with his mother, father, and grandmother in Modena.  The child stated that he found the drugs on the floor by the washing machine at that residence, the complaint said.

The detectives executed a search warrant at the Modena residence on Saturday evening, Hogan said.  Nobody was home, but they located heroin bags in the residence, as well as an empty heroin bag in a pair of children’s shorts, he said.

The detectives also located another 7-year-old- student from Caln Elementary School who had contact with the child.  That student’s mother told detectives that while walking in the Exton Square Mall at 4 p.m. on Friday, she found her child in possession of a bag of heroin stamped “Victoria Secret.”  The student stated that the classmate had supplied the drugs, Hogan said.

On Sunday, May 4, detectives located and interviewed the child’s mother, father, and grandmother, Hogan said. Bilinski-Munion said she was baby-sitting her 7-year-old grandson and a 1-year-old baby on May 1 at the Modena residence, brought heroin into the house, and lost track of it, Hogan said.  Her grandson found it and brought it to school the next day, Hogan said.

News that “a dangerous and illegal substance” had been found at the school was delivered through a telephone message to parents on Friday evening, sending shockwaves through the school community. The message said a student reported finding found blue baggies in the grass during recess. “Upon further investigation, we found the small blue bags came from another student’s home,” the message said. “That student did not ride the bus, but through the investigation, it was discovered the student attempted to hand out the bags to other students.”

The message urged parents to have a conversation with their children to see if it was distributed to them and to take them to the nearest emergency room if they might have had contact with the substance. District officials later confirmed that the substance had been identified as heroin.

In the news release, Hogan said “a late and vague notification to parents about a ‘dangerous and illegal’ substance is too little and too late. From a law enforcement perspective, CASD’s solicitor should have immediately notified the District Attorney’s Office.  CASD’s notification to the parents was inadequate to help the children, but served to tip off the defendant, putting the investigation at risk.”

District Solicitor James Ellison took issue with Hogan’s remarks. He said that the school district has its own police force and that they are responsible for contacting the local department that has jurisdiction. In this case, Ellison said “three separate police departments were contacted: Caln, Coatesville, and South Coatesville. Both Coatesville and South Coatesville rendered immediate assistance,” he said, adding that officers accompanied a school district officer to the student’s home on Friday night.

“My understanding is that our police department contacts the appropriate local police department directly,” Ellison said, adding that he does not get involved in those contacts or the subsequent reports they generate. “To my knowledge, it has never been protocol  to contact the District Attorney’s Office.”

Hogan urged anyone with additional information about the case to contact Chester County Detectives at 610-344-6866.