Hedwig Jankowski Masciantonio, 94, of Chadds Ford, died Sunday, Dec. 4, at Pocopson Home in Pocopson Township. She was the wife of the late John P. Masciantonio who died in 2001 and with whom she shared 46 years of marriage.
Hedwig Jankowski Masciantonio
Born in Wilmington, she was the daughter of the late John and the late Martha (Gawinska) Jankowski.
Hedy devoted untiring love and energy to the care and upbringing of her family. She is survived by her daughters, Kathleen Cross and her husband Robert of Landenberg, and Marie Masciantonio of Glen Mills; her son, David Masciantonio, of Hamburg, and four grandchildren, Emily Link and her husband Philip of Wilmington, Anthony Cross of Columbia, Md., and Anna and Elizabeth Masciantonio, both of Glen Mills.
Hedy lived a life of unwavering faith and selfless service to God and church. She was one of the founding mothers of St. Cornelius Catholic Church in Chadds Ford, helping the parish grow from its earliest years into a flourishing spiritual community. Among her many parish activities, she was past president of the Blessed Virgin Mary Sodality.
You are invited to visit with Hedy’s family and friends from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m. Friday, Dec. 9, at St. Cornelius Catholic Church, 160 Ridge Rd., Chadds Ford, PA 19317. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10 a.m. Interment will be in All Saints Cemetery, Wilmington.
Contributions in Hedy’s memory may be made to the Special Olympics Delaware, 619 S. College Avenue, Newark, DE 19716. Arrangements are by Kuzo & Grieco Funeral Home Inc. (610-444-4116) of Kennett Square. To view her online tribute and to share a memory with her family, please visit www.griecocares.com
A plan for the development of Crebilly Farm is still under review by the Westtown Township Planning Commission, but the Board of Supervisors heard reaction to the plan from some residents during its Dec. 5 meeting.
Crebilly is a 325-acre farm at Routes 926 and 202. Toll Bros. has an agreement of sale with the owner to build 300 or more homes on the site, with 190 acres left as open space.
Steve Rodia, a member of the Planning Commission, gave supervisors a brief report on the commission’s Nov. 16 meeting, saying the commission got a good amount of feedback from residents and others who attended, and called the session “very informative” from an historic perspective and regarding the potential increase in traffic with the addition of 300-plus homes.
He said Toll Bros. basically gave us an overview of the project “that really went over well.”
Resident Cecilia Wright spoke after Rodia, saying she attended the Nov. 16 meeting. She spoke for 10 minutes telling supervisors that none of the comments on the plan she heard were positive, “other than the Toll Bros. comments.”
“They had positive comments, but the audience did not,” she said. “It was a very slick presentation. They must think we’re more like fifth- or sixth-graders.”
Wright said traffic is a serious problem, and that she had done her own traffic count at 7 a.m. one day. She said she stopped counting at 560 cars in a 20-minute period.
“It is a profound amount of vehicles,” Wright added.
She urged supervisors to look at other, similar Toll plans in other areas before making a decision. She wants to know whether the sizes of the homes are specified in any agreement, whether a house may be built on less than one-half an acre. Wright also questioned the bonus density.
Toll would like to build more homes than called for in the zoning code, but that restriction can be modified by supervisors following a conditional use hearing.
The extra density would require the developer to provide something to the township in exchange, such as public sewers or road improvements.
“They’re asking for a bonus and they’re going to give us a bonus to get something back. There’s not one bonus that I saw,” Wright said.
Several other people, from Kennett and Pennsbury townships, spoke as well. One expressed her solidarity with Westtown residents because she drives through the intersection of Routes 202 and 926 to and from work. Another person questioned the procedures involved in the application.
Supervisors’ Chairman Carol DeWolf explained that supervisors couldn’t comment on specifics of the application at this time because it’s in front of the Planning Commission and that supervisors are not even allowed to attend those meetings.
DeWolf added that the entire plan has been submitted to John Snook of the Brandywine Conservancy for review and that the township is waiting for his comments.
The Planning Commission in scheduled to hold a total of four public meetings on the matter. The next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 15 at Stetson Middle School.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan announced 28-year-old Matthew Jeffrey Sipps of Aston is the first in Delaware County to be charged under Pennsylvania’s new human trafficking legislation for engaging in a sex act with a victim while knowing that the act was the result of that individual being a victim of human trafficking.
Matthew Jeffrey Sipps, 28, of Sweigart Lane in Aston, is charged with patronizing a victim of a sexual servitude, a felony of the second degree, concealment of the whereabouts of a child, a felony of the third degree, and corruption of minors, a misdemeanor charge. The arrest comes at the conclusion of an investigation conducted by Det. Mark Bucci of the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Child Abuse Unit and Sgt. Michael Ruggieri of the Aston Township Police Department.
During the course of the investigation, detectives learned that the victim used HYPERLINK through www.backpage.com to seek employment as an escort. Through an online ad, she made contact with a man named using the name “Jordan” from New Jersey.
Matthew Jeffrey Sipps
After making contact, Jordan picked up the victim in Rhode Island and drove her to a hotel in New Jersey. According to the victim, she told him that she was 16-years old and had run away from home. Jordan told the victim that they were going to have sex because she was now “working” for him. After having sex with the victim several times over the course of three days, Jordan told the victim it was time for her to work.
He took non-nude, scantily dressed photographs of the victim, which he posted as a backpage ad under the category “Philadelphia adult entertainment>Philly escorts” advertising “18-year old Italian cutie Maria on spring break looking to go wild.”
Over a two-week period, the child victim met four men for sex and was paid approximately $2,500 which was split with Jordan.
In March 2015, Matthew Sipps responded to the backpage ad and met the victim at a hotel. Sipps went to the hotel on four occasions and paid the victim for sex. At one point, Sipps told the victim that he wanted to take her away from her current environment.
She told him she was 16-years old and a runway from Rhode Island but he moved forward with his plan and took her to his home in Aston where he lived with his mother and two adult brothers.
The victim stayed with Sipps at his home for a month and they had sexual intercourse several times. Sipps told the victim to not leave, stay in Sipps room and to not socialize with his family.
For more than a week she told Sipps that she wanted to go home but he would not let her leave the house. Eventually Sipps provided the victim with a cell phone in his name and the victim contacted her mother in Rhode Island who then contacted local police about the whereabouts of her missing daughter.
In May 2015, FBI Special Agent Michael Goodhue and Bucci met with Sipps. At that time, Sipps admitted to meeting the victim at motel in Marple Shade, N.J., after calling the phone number on backpage. Sipps was arrested on Dec. 5, by police and arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Diane Holefelder who set bail at ten percent of $50,000. Assistant District Attorney Pearl Kim, Chief of Human Trafficking, will be prosecuting the case.
Through the course of a separate federal investigation, the individual known as “Jordan” was later identified as Raymond Justis. On March 30, Justis pled guilty to federal charges of sex trafficking a minor and was sentenced 14 years in federal prison following the prosecution in federal court by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle L. Morgan.
In a press release, Whelan thanked detectives, the Child Advocacy Center and the Delaware County Women Against Rape for their assistance.
“Their hard work and collaboration led to these arrests and, more importantly, made sure this child victim received treatment and was returned home to a safe, healthy environment. Together, we in law enforcement are committed to vigorously investigating and prosecuting those who traffic and exploit children for their own selfish gain,” Whelan said.
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
