Adelphoi Village employee charged with having sex with 18-year-old male ward

An employee at an Adelphoi Village group home for adjudicated juveniles is charged with having sex with an 18-year-old male ward at the Unity Township facility Feb 23.

Kelly Jean Zawodniak, 31, of Saltsburg, Indiana County, is charged by state police in Greensburg with institutional sex assault and corruption of minors.

Trooper John T. Beynon alleges in an affidavit filed with District Judge Michael Mahady Wednesday that Zawodniak, who was employed for a few weeks as “fill-in staff member,” was discovered by a counselor having sex with the teenager in the laundry room at the Mission Road home.

Beynon said Zawodniak was immediately fired by Adelphoi, escorted to her vehicle and ordered to stay off all Adelphoi property in the future. Adelphoi officials contacted ChildLine to report the incident, according to Beynon.

During the police investigation, Beynon said the corruption of minors complaint arose after another 16-year-old male ward living in a separate Adelphoi group home on Village Road in Latrobe said Zawodniak left inappropriate notes on his bed and attempted to hug him in the laundry room on Feb. 20.

Beynon said the youth told police he refused Zawodniak's advances and provided police with the five notes she left him.

During her arraignment, Zawodniak told Mahady that her only prior arrest was a minor marijuana possession charge years ago and that she received probation. There is no online court record of that incident.

Adelphoi Village spokeswoman Karyn Pratt said the nonprofit agency completes extensive background checks on prospective employees.

“I know we require employees to undergo an FBI clearance check, and state Act 33 (child abuse) and 34 (criminal history) checks before being hired. We definitely make sure any prospective employee has no prior criminal offense involving children,” Pratt said. “I believe it's a pretty secure screening process. And in this case we were made aware of the situation and immediately followed all the appropriate procedures.”

Zawodniak declined comment after her arraignment. She was released on recognizance bond pending a preliminary hearing March 27.

Paul Peirce is a reporter for the Tribune-Review. He can be reached at 724-850-2860 or ppeirce@tribweb.com