Former Boston high school dean Shaun O. Harrison, who allegedly recruited students to the Latin Kings gang, has been sentenced to over 18 years in prison.
Per The Boston Globe, the 63-year-old Harrison pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity (a.k.a. RICO) last year. On Thursday, he was sentenced to serve 18 years and two months, or 218 months, in prison. He’s been given credit for 98 months already served and will be put on three years of supervised release following the prison term.
“The level of betrayal and dishonesty exhibited here is astonishing,” said Massachusetts US Attorney Rachael S. Rollins in a statement. “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. Harrison was the architect of ruin for an entire generation of promising young lives."
Prosecutors alleged that Harrison was part of the Latin Kings gang while he served as the dean at The English High School in Boston. He was previously convicted in 2018 for attempting to kill one of his students. He was sentenced to 26 years for the attempted murder.
Harrison was hired as the high school’s dean in 2015 and recruited children into the gang. He forced the children to push drugs such as marijuana. When he learned that one of the students he recruited planned to keep money for themselves and thought about going to the police, he met with the student and shot them in the back of the head. The student survived the shooting, which was captured on a surveillance camera.
Federal prosecutors have also alleged that he has continued to work with the Latin Kings following his 2018 conviction. “The fact that Harrison continued to associate with Latin Kings members while in state prison … shows a callous disregard for the law and the harm he caused,” added Rollins.
