A former high school dean convicted of shooting a student he recruited to deal drugs has been sentenced to 18 years in prison on racketeering charges.
In 2022, Shaun Harrison, a self-styled preacher called “Rev,” was sentenced to 18 years after pleading guilty to racketeering charges.
“Harrison was the architect of ruin for an entire generation of promising young lives – exclusively targeting and grooming vulnerable, at-risk youth,” U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said.
“The level of betrayal and dishonesty exhibited here is astonishing. Harrison was in a position of trust, but was actually a dangerous predator. As the academic dean at a Boston Public high school he lured and manipulated teenagers into a criminal enterprise that specialized in street terrorism,” Rollins added.
Although imprisoned for attempting to murder a student he recruited to sell marijuana, Harrison continued to negotiate with Latin Kings, a prominent criminal enterprise that supported him while he was behind bars.
In 2015, Boston Public Schools hired Harrison as a dean at English High School, where he was required to work with at-risk students. Officials said he used his position to recruit the students into the Latin Kings gang. Students would provide the drugs Harrison provided, while Harrison would collect the money.
Former Boston high school dean who was a Latin Kings member is sentenced to more than 18 years in prison https://t.co/M7Bo8q4fUA pic.twitter.com/zBhMrze97K
— Boston.com (@BostonDotCom) May 5, 2023
When Harrison thought one of the students he recruited to sell drugs for him had stolen money from him and might inform the police, he shot him in the back of the head.
Although he survived, the student lives with partial face paralysis, neuropathy in his upper body, permanent hearing loss, along with other significant injuries.
“Shaun Harrison led a double life – using his position as a high school dean to engage in violence and recruit at-risk youth into a violent criminal enterprise,” Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, said.
“Today’s sentence ensures he will stay in prison and off our city streets for a significant period of time,” Bonavolonta added.
“The convergence of gangs, guns, and drugs are a serious threat to our communities which the FBI and our law enforcement partners are working hard every day to address,” he continued.
