BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP)– A former academic dean for the Boston Public Schools was sentenced to prison for his involvement in recruiting students into the Latin Kings gang.

Shaun Harrison, a/k/a “Rev,” age 63, was also a former member of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings) and had been employed since 2015 as the academic dean at a English High School. In that position he was responsible for acting as a mediator between teachers and students, contacting families when students struggled, working with at-risk students and running an anger management program for 10 boys after school.

Prosecutors say that while working as dean he used his position to recruit a number of the at-risk students into the gang and directed the recruited students to distribute marijuana and other drugs, which he provided, in the high school and collected the drug proceeds.

A number of the students that Harrison recruited included Wilson Peguero, a/k/a “King Dubb,” who later became the “Inca” or the leader of the D5K Chapter of the Latin Kings; Alexis Peguero, a/k/a “King Lexi,” who became the “Cacique” or the second-in-command of the D5K Chapter of the Latin Kings; Dante Lara, a/k/a “King Nasty;” Oscar Pena, a/k/a “King O-Block;” and others. Wilson Peguero, Alexis Peguero, Lara and Pena were each charged in this case and sentenced to serve 30 months, 21 months, two years and 32 months in prison, respectively. 

Additionally, Harrison was arrested and sentenced to 25 years in state prison for the attempted murder of a student in 2015.  Harrison came to believe that the student, who had been distributing drugs for him, had stolen money, no longer wished to sell drugs and may tell the police about Harrison’s crimes. Harrison shot the student in the back of the head at point blank range, which was captured on video by a surveillance camera in the area. The student survived.  

While in prison, Harrison continued to associate and work with the Latin Kings.

In August 2022, Harrison pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, more commonly referred to as RICO conspiracy. He was sentenced Thursday in Federal court in Boston on racketeering charges to 218 months in prison, with credit for 98 months’ time served, and three years of supervised release.