Norristown school employee pleads guilty to harassment of student

A Montgomery County family says the Norristown Area School District should do more to protect students after a school employee pleaded guilty to harassment.

The family says their child was harassed by a school employee and is now asking what the district will do to prevent it from happening again.

The incidents happened inside Norristown Area High School. Police said they became involved after several reports were made by school officials.

The employee, identified by police as Jose Gonzalez-Hernandez, listed himself on social media as a community liaison and a coach.

The student, whose identity and that of her family are being withheld, said the man approached her at a football game.

“He came up to me at a football game, which was the first incident, and he acted as if he knew me,” she said. She added that the behavior continued inside the school.

“Every time in school he continued to come up to me,” she said.

“He gave her a frontal hug, she said she felt disgusted by it. She said he ran his finger down her face and said, ‘That’s the smile that I’m looking for,’” a family member shared.

Police said complaints were made in November and an investigation began. During that time, Gonzalez-Hernandez was placed on leave. Police said the Norristown Area School District enacted a safety plan to ensure the student would not come in contact with him.

Detectives said they spoke to witnesses during the investigation.

“On one occasion, he hugged her, what she describes as a full on chest hug. It happened in the lobby of the school,” Detective Mark Wassmer of West Norriton police said. “All of these interactions were caught on surveillance video”

The video was expected to be played in court, but the hearing did not happen. Gonzalez-Hernandez pleaded guilty to the summary harassment charge.

The Norristown Area School District said in a statement that they are aware an employee pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment involving a student. The district said the recent court action has triggered a review of their response to the original complaint filed several months ago.

“They made it seem like this gentleman had more rights than my daughter had,” a family member said.

According to the family, Gonzalez-Hernandez worked as a coach and interpreter in the district. They say they expected more from the district.

“If he felt comfortable doing this with my daughter, he was probably comfortable enough to do this with other girls as well,” a family member said.

NBC10 reached out to an attorney listed for Gonzalez-Hernandez and has not received a response.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.