In a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said that his office launched the probe after it received a transcript of the texts from district personnel.
An investigation by the Daily Local News found that the cell phone accounts were linked to former Coatesville Area School Superintendent Richard Como and former Director of Athletics and Activities Jim Donato. Both men had unexpectedly resigned during the first week of school in late August.
A timeline of events from the Daily Local News showed that the text messages were sent in June and a copy was provided to the school board in August after being discovered by the district’s IT department.
According to the paper, “the school board was made aware of the text messages and was prepared to allow Como and Donato to remain in their positions until the transcripts were leaked to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, prompting a criminal investigation.”
In a transcript of the text messages obtained by Daily Local News, one of the men suggests that all African-Americans should have the N-word for their last name.
“All should have whatever first names they want… then last name is N*GGER!” he wrote. “Leroy N*gger, Preacher N*gger, Night train n*gger, clarence n*gger, Latoya n*gger, Thelma n*gger and so on.”
