A former Knoch Primary School principal was accepted into the county’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program to resolve criminal charges alleging he failed to report suspected child abuse in a case related to charges against his son.

Gregory G. Mandalas, 50, was accepted in January into the two-year program to resolve a misdemeanor charge of failure to report or refer filed by state police in May 2023. The charge stems from an August 2022 incident investigation of his son, Matthew G. Mandalas, that stemmed from a ChildLine report.

Police said a 6-year-old female reported that Matthew Mandalas touched her in an intimate area and then forced her to also touch him inappropriately. He was 19 years old and the girl was 5 years old at the time of the alleged incident. He was charged with felony corruption of minors and misdemeanor indecent assault on Aug. 26, 2022.

Police said the girl’s parents contacted Gregory Mandalas about their daughter’s disclosure on several occasions throughout August. According to police, the parents reached out twice on Aug. 4 and four more times in August.

Gregory Mandalas had knowledge of the alleged incident for 22 days and did not report it, according to police.

Gregory Mandalas was placed on paid indefinite administrative leave after charges were filed against him, and he retired in June 2023.

ARD is a rehabilitative program that allows participants to seek dismissal of charges and have their record expunged if they complete the program.