Vicarious consent

COURT DECISION

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that telephone conversations a father recorded between his daughter and the teacher he suspected of sexually abusing her will be admissible in court, writing that parents may record their children’s telephone conversations if it is necessary for a child’s welfare.

The 16-page ruling reverses a decision made by a Marshall County District Court judge, who ruled that recorded conversations of former teacher Jeffrey Spencer and his 13-year-old student were not admissible in Spencer’s sexual abuse trial.

Spencer, 44, was charged in September 2005 with sexual exploitation by a school employee, indecent contact with a child and lascivious acts with a minor after the girl’s father suspected the inappropriate relationship and tapped the phone, later discovering conversations of a sexual nature and taking the recordings to police.

Spencer has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Spencer’s attorneys filed a motion to suppress the recordings, arguing that neither Spencer or the girl consented to having their conversations tape-recorded, while prosecutors argued state the recordings of the telephone conversations do not violate Iowa code because the girl’s father can vicariously consent on her behalf to record the conversations between she and Spencer.

The court's decision written by Justice David Wiggins argues that while consent must be given to record such conversations, federal courts have made exceptions for guardians who have a “good faith, objectively reasonable basis for believing that it is necessary in in the best interest of the child” to consent on their behalf.

TT - The newspaper doesn't provide a link to the ruling.
It is State of Iowa vs. Jeffrey Lewis Spencer No. 50 / 06-0565

PLEA & SENTENCING (Sorta) September 17, 2008 - Spencer entered Alford pleas to charges of sexual exploitation by a school employee and lascivious conduct with a minor. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail - not prison. He will be eligible for work release. (He was also given probation, but the duration was not given in the story.)

"A parent should expect and be assured that when that parent sends a child off into a school environment, the child will be helped, not harmed," said Judge William Pattinson. "The child was entrusted to your care and you betrayed that trust."

However, the judge also acknowledged Spencer had a positive effect on many other children in the community and had the support of his family.

"I have no doubt but that you have done worlds of good in this community," he said.
Pattinson told Spencer he had originally been leaning toward a sentence of years of prison, but that he was persuaded after receiving additional information and hearing the testimony of his family.

TT - Spencer was 44 years old.

Glenwood, IOWA

Guilty of child endangerment. Her lawyer: She lost her job, was refused an interview, and was expected to lose her teacher's license.

April 29, 2008 - Cindy Zimmerly, 38, a special education teacher at Northeast Elementary School, was arrested on suspicion of child endangerment for leaving her three children - ages ages 5, 3 and 1 — in a mini-van while she was shopping in a Wal-Mart store.

Zimmerly returned to the vehicle with purchases after about half an hour, then left again for about 20 minutes.

The Pottawattamie County Attorney’s office is considering formal charges. Zimmerly is scheduled to appear in court later this week.
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Northeast Elementary is a Kindergarten through 3rd grade school which is a part of the Glenwood Community School District. Glenwood is a southwest Iowa town approximately 30 miles southeast of Omaha, Nebraska. - From their web site.

She's not the first teacher to, OOPS, - forget the children.
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CHARGES WILL BE FILED May 4 - Assistant Pottawattamie County Attorney Amy Zacharias said Friday that three charges of child endangerment will be filed by the time of Cindy Zimmerly's preliminary hearing in early June. She has been placed on administrative leave.

GUILTY August 29 - Zimmerly has been found guilty of three counts of child endangerment. Zimmerly didn't contest testimony given in the case, which is similar to a no-contest plea in Nebraska. Two of the three counts will be dismissed at sentencing, said Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber.

Zimmerly's attorney has said that as a result of the charges she lost her job, was refused an interview for another job and was expected to lose her teacher's certificate.

She will be sentenced in late September.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: You can check the current status of a teacher's license online here.

Teacher discipline decisions are not summarized or searchable. The state Board of Educational Examiners minutes contain teacher discipline actions but provide no reason for the actions. link
See June 2008 minutes PDF

Oskaloosa, IOWA

August 19, 2008 - Jeremy Chamberlin, 31, an Oskaloosa Middle School teacher, accused of fondling a 16-year-old girl in 2006, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault with intent to commit sexual abuse.

Chamberlin was charged on August 6. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 27
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LEGAL INFO: (from story) Assault with intent to commit sexual abuse is a class C felony when a serious injury occurs, a class D felony when a non-serious injury occurs and an aggravated misdemeanor when no injury occurs.
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Farley, IOWA

Feb 18, 2008 - Dale Soppe, a Western Dubuque School District teacher in the 1960s, will go on trial in July for indecent behavior with a child and enticing a child for immoral purpose. The case dates back to 1969.

The student is 51 years old now. He was 13 and a student in Iowa where Soppe was his teacher. After he moved to Wisconsin, Soppes visited the boy. That is where the sexual abuse for which Soppe is being charged happened. Soppe was 34 years old at the time. He is 72 now.

Wisconsin’s statute of limitations should have expired years ago. But it didn’t, and authorities say Soppe’s Iowa residency is the reason. When a suspect leaves Wisconsin the statute of limitations pauses. That stopped clock allowed prosecutors to file charges in 2006.

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TT - The sexual abuse began in Iowa, but the statue of limitations prevented prosecution in that state.

Former teacher charged with molesting boy in Wisconsin (dated May 11, 2006)
Soppe, who wrote two books and later left teaching to become a therapist, studied for the priesthood for several years, according to biographical information in one of his books.

Former Area Teacher Will Go to Trial for Sexually Abusing Boy (dated Feb 19 2008)
Soppe also taught at Xavier High School in Dyersville.

Reminder: The location is the school or school district. Dates are publication dates. Soppes will be prosecuted in Wisconsin. He taught in Iowa. When and why he left teaching is a good question.

SENTENCED (sorta) July 17 - Soppe was found guilty of fourth-degree sexual assault, and a second count was dismissed in Barron County, Wis. A judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail - not prison - a $1,000 fine and required Soppe to register as a sex offender and undergo sex-offender evaluation and follow-up treatment.

TT - Sixty days in jail. At least he will have to register as a sex offender.

Iowa City, IOWA

CASE DISMISSED
Victim unwilling to testify.

Feb 21, 2008 - Colleen Solberg, 38, a special education "associate" at Iowa City West High School, was arrested, charged early this morning with lascivious acts with a 17-year old male.

Police said Solberg, who is no longer with the district, passed notes and poems to the student and later bought him a cell phone to use. Police were alerted by the victim's family in November.

Solberg worked at West since 2002 but also had short stints at City High and Horn and Longfellow elementary schools
Full Name: Colleen Katharine Solberg AKA Colleen K. Solberg

NOT GUILTY PLEA April 26 - Solberg pleaded not guilty in a written arraignment Thursday to lascivious conduct with a minor. Solberg's pretrial conference is set for June 4 and her trial is scheduled to begin June 16.

CASE DISMISSED June 19 - The case was dismissed because the prosecution was unable to get the alleged victim to testify, according to court records. (Source: Press-Citizen)

Morrison, IOWA

Sentenced to ten years.

Nov 24, 2006 -
Charles W. Christopher, 28, Challand Middle School (Illinois) physical education teacher, pleaded not guilty to 16 counts of indecent solicitation of a child - once count for every occasion he allegedly sought sex online.

Christopher used a school computer to chat with who he thought was a 13- and her 11-year-old friend. The "girls" actually was undercover police officer from Burlington, Iowa, who was conducting an Internet sting to catch child predators.

July 13 - A judge will hear arguments on the motion to drop on Aug. 13. Christopher, also a Sterling High School wrestling coach, was arrested in October and fired in December, after the school district conducted its own investigation.His trial is scheduled for Aug. 27.

HEARING SCHEDULED Sept 28 - Christopher has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled for Thursday (Oct 4? )in federal court in Davenport, Iowa. He has been in custody since April. His trial was to begin Oct. 9. He filed a motion to dismiss in July but a U.S. District judge denied the motion last month.

GUILTY PLEA Oct 4 - Christopher pleaded guilty today to trying to arrange sex with a Burlington girl he met on the Internet.

IN SUPPORT May 31, 2008 - Christopher will be sentenced on Monday. His attorney submitted 29 letters in advance of the sentencing to try to sway the judge's decision on how Christopher should be sentenced.

Most of the letters were from family and friends and a sex-addiction group that Christopher had been attending before his arrest. A relative revealed that Christopher had a sex addiction problem while he was growing up. His fiance wrote that she took away pornography from him and how he resorted to phone sex lines and ordering adult material online and that they attended counseling. Three co-workers, including two gym teachers, wrote letters of support for him.

TT - Did any of these people think it was important to notify the school that they had someone with a sex addiction problem working with middle school children? They knew he was in a sex addiction group and he and his fiance were in counseling. Did no one think that they should have notified the school? What the hell is the matter with people like that?

SENTENCED - June 2 - Christopher was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
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As one poster put it at the news story: "Oh great, everything is now considered an "addict". So next time I get caught speeding, or not wearing my seatbelt, I should have everyone I know write letters to let them know I'm a "seatbeltless addict". ....Unreal"

Other posters aren't sympathetic to the "addict" excuse either.

Mason City, IOWA

May 5, 2008 - Mark Donisi, 57, a Mason City teacher, was sentenced to five years in prison on various drug charges, followed by a four-year term of supervised release after the prison term.

He was convicted in October of manufacturing marijuana, possession of steroids, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana and possession of a firearm as a drug user. The jury determined that Donisi must forfeit his interest in his rural Rockwell acreage, $32,039 of seized cash, a $5,000 cashier's check and $1.9 million he made from selling marijuana.

A search of his house resulted in the seizure of marijuana, oxycodone, marijuana, three firearms over $32,000 in cash, a $5,000 cashier’s check, and a notebook written by the defendant reflecting his marijuana growing activities from 2004 to 2006.
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U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release (dated Oct 7, 2007) on conviction.
U.S. Attorney's Office Press Release (dated May 2, 2008) on sentencing.
- Only place where he was identified as a former teacher.

Further search, however, shows that a court ruled inadmissible any reference by the defendant’s ex-wife, to the defendant’s prior drug use or his forced resignation of his job as a teacher and counselor with the Mason City Public School system in 2001 based upon an allegation of having an extra-marital affair with a student. No. CR 06-3055-MWB [Inexplicably, the decision is online in HTML format.]

Iowa

Someone is funding this legal circus and we bet it isn't the teacher.

Carroll, IOWA

Sentenced to ten years in prison.

Feb 13, 2008 - Robert Rogers, 61, a Carroll Middle School teacher, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a male student.

He pleaded to one count third-degree sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation by a school employee. Under the plea agreement, two other counts of third-degree sexual abuse have were dropped. He was accused of molesting the male student numerous times from January 2006 to June 2007.

In questioning by Judge Swanson, Rogers said he performed oral sex on a 14- or 15-year-old male student at least 10 times from January 2006 to June 2007. The number of sex acts had to be specified for the court to determine that Rogers had engaged in a "pattern or practice or scheme" of sexual conduct as defined by Iowa law with regard to the charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

Rogers taught language arts at Carroll Middle School for 37 years. He will be sentenced Mar 21.
Full Name: Robert Dale Rogers aka Bob Rogers

SENTENCED April 2, 2008 - Rogers was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In return for his plea, two two other third-degree sexual abuse charges were dropped.

Clarification of sentence: Rogers was sentenced to to concurrent state-prison terms of 10 years for third-degree sexual abuse and five years for sexual exploitation by a school employee.

LAWSUIT August 27 - Federal and civil lawsuits against the Carroll Community School District over a teacher sexual abuse case have been settled for $115,000. The lawsuits claimed that the district knew of Robert Rogers' inappropriate behavior but failed to warn the boy and his family or authorities.

Teacher Quality

NEWSPAPER
EDITORIAL

March 25, 2008 - An editorial from the DesMoines Register asks the governor to veto HF 2645, the hastily-approved bill that at expands the power of public-employee unions.

Senate passage Monday came six after the proposal was introduced, when many Iowans were away during school districts' spring breaks. The measure surfaced Tuesday, March 18, in an amendment to House File 2645, which originally was expected only to tweak Iowa's collective-bargaining law.

March 26, 2008 - Jack L. Hill, president of the Iowa Association of School Boards, explained why the bill would strip school boards of much of their authority and their ability to fire teachers. Districts must have the flexibility to make the decision to terminate teachers. At present, their decisions can be taken to arbitration after which districts can appeal to courts to make a final determination.

The new bill removes the ability to appeal that decision to district court. School board decisions, overturned by adjudicators, are regularly upheld by the courts.

Webster City, IOWA

Due to be arraigned, Mofle committed suicide in his jail cell.

Jan 17, 2008 - Shawn Mofle, 41, Webster City Middle School 7th grade basketball coach, turned himself in to police. He is a suspect in a child pornography investigation.

A search was executed at his Webster City home in which police seized computer hard drives and video equipment. Police say what they seized were the alleged production and or possession of child pornography. Mofle is on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation by the police and school district.

ARREST WARRANT Jan 16 - The material witness arrest warrant was issued by police on Jan 15. The warrant indicates that Mofle is "a material witness to a felony" and that he would not willingly make himself available for subpoena.

INDICTED Mar 1 - Shawn Mofle was indicted in federal court in Sioux City Thursday on eight counts of making and possessing child pornography. Two new charges date back to 2003, according to the indictment filed against him. He’s now also accused of engaging in oral sex with a minor April 21 and July 16, 2003 and making videotapes of those acts, according to the indictment filed against him.

Mar 2 - Police were alerted when Mofle's stepson brought the videotape to them.

On Jan. 12 one of Mofle’s stepsons found a mini DV cassette that had video of boys showering in a locker room. The boy replaced the cassette, according to investigators, and talked to a family friend. The boy was advised to take the video to school or to the police. He found the video camera in Mofle’s bedroom the next day and switched the cassette with a blank one, and then he took the cassette with the locker-room footage to police.

Prosecutors say Mofle hid a video camera in a duffle bag and pointed it at his team while they showered. The indictment reads, "For the purpose of producing visual depictions." Mofle will be arraigned March 6.

SUICIDE March 6 - Shawn Mofle committed suicide today in a South Dakota jail. He was scheduled to appear in court later today. Chief Deputy Myron McDaniel of the U.S. Marshals Service in Cedar Rapids said it appeared that Mofle hanged himself.

Marshalltown, IOWA

Jan 14, 2008 - Jeremy Hendricks, 28, a former assistant wrestling coach at at Marshalltown High School, entered an Alford plea on a misdemeanor charge of sexual exploitation by a school employee.

He was charged in 2005, accused of an inappropriate relationship with a student. The deal means he will likely get no jail time for the crime. The prosecutor will be recommending probation. However, the sexual exploitation charge will require him to be on the sex offender registry. He will be sentenced Jan 30.

SENTENCED Feb 19 - Hendricks was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and a two-year, suspended prison sentence. He will be on the sex offender registry. Because of residency restrictions that apply to sex offenders, Hendricks has already put his home up for sale, something he said he and his wife would never have done if it were not required by law. AWWWWWWW

Judge Kim Riley took note that Hendricks has no previous criminal history. However, she also said his position required him to act responsibly. The judge also added the victim was also harmed emotionally, being the subject of ridicule and gossip at school to the point she became an outsider her senior year.

Ottumwa, IOWA

He's unfit for his own trial on kidnapping charges, but he was fit to be an aide in a school where he met the little girl.

Feb 8, 2008 - Brendan Stanley, 31, was charged with second-degree kidnapping of the 9-year-old girl in 2005 met her when he was an aide at James Elementary School.

Today the trial was put on hold. Judge Michael Mullins ruled that Stanley "suffers from a mental disorder which prevents him from fully appreciating the charges, from fully understanding that proceeding, and from assisting effectively in his defense."Stanley was sent to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale, where officials will submit a status report within a month.

Iowa judge approves cameras in kidnapping trial Dec 15, 2005

Cedar Rapids, IOWA

Feb 7, 2008 - Marc Hammes, 34, a drama director at Kennedy High School, who admitted stealing money from the Thespa drama club, pleaded guilty to third-degree theft Friday in a negotiated plea that reduced his original first-degree theft charge down to third-degree.

He was sentenced to a deferred judgement and two years' probation. (His conviction will erased from his record if at the conclusion of his probation he has no additional charges brought against him and he repays the money.)

He resigned in May 2007 at the district's request and no longer has a valid teaching license in Iowa.

Hampton, IOWA

We frequently criticize school administrators who can't (read: won't) release information to the public because of [Insert your own reason here - because they pretty much make up the law themselves.] They can be blabbermouths when it suits them, however. Publicly and privately.

Feb 7, 2008 - The mother of a student wants an injunction to prevent school officials and employees from discussing the case involving her daughter and a teaching assistant. Specifically, the mother alleges in a civil suit that a board member and a teacher circulated her daughter's name. The board member admitted he shared the information with his wife. The teacher denies discussing the matter with the board member's wife.

The attorney for the school district argued much of the public's knowledge of the case came from the family itself. "The alleged victim told fellow students two days after it happened," Hansen said. "The mother has told her friends." TT - Immaterial. They have no legal obligation to refrain from public disclosure.

Tyler Radcliffe, 21, a teaching assistant and assistant softball coach at Hampton-Dumont High School, was charged Jan 8 with third-degree sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by a school employee. The mother reported School officials met with the the incident school officials in October. Radcliffe was placed on paid administrative leave in October.

Runnells, IOWA

Jan 21, 2008 - Dustin Roland, 27, a Southeast Polk Junior High health teacher, was arrested and charged with fourth-degree theft.

Two witnesses reportedly saw Roland rummaging through a woman's purse inside a crowded and busy bar. Police said Roland allegedly removed a camera and a wallet from the purse and attempted to leave the bar. Officers said in a report, "Suspect began to try to run out of the club. Suspect threw the wallet in a trash can."An officer stopped Roland and recovered the camera, police said.
Full Name: Dustin Ryan Roland

Souix City, IOWA

Curious.

Jan 18, 2008 - Police investigating a father - Lawrence Douglas Harris Jr. - who strangled and killed his two stepdaughters ages used a subpeona to access school records on Kendra and Alysha Suing.

Larry Williams, superintendent of Sioux City Public Schools, said police asked to view information about the girls after the press conference last week. Some teacher records, which Williams described as teacher's personal notes, caught officers' attention.

The girls were ages 10 and 8.

TT - The girls are both dead. Why was a subpeona required to access the records?

Davenport, IOWA

Sentenced (sorta) for selling drugs to make money.

August 6, 2007 - Mary Lane, 33, a second-grade special education teacher at Adams Elementary School, was arrested after police found ecstasy, marijuana and a loaded gun in her home.

Police, apparently, were tipped off that Lane was dealing drugs from her home. Lane was charged with two counts of drug possession and delivery, two counts of drug tax stamp violations and one count of hosting a drug house.

Police also seized an electronic scale and plastic bags. She was suspended.

WQAD has excellent coverage of the arrest and talked to neighbors.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING (sorta) Nov 29 - Lane pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver marijuana and a drug tax stamp violation. Lane was sentenced by Scott County District Judge Gary McKenrick to -- three years of probation -- for selling marijuana out of her house.

Lane could have the conviction removed from her record if she successfully completes probation and pays a $1,500 fine.

``I made a mistake,'' Lane said during her sentencing hearing. ``I was supposed to be a role model, and I screwed that up.

``It's a huge embarrassment for me. It's a huge embarrassment for my family.''

She sold the drugs to make money.

TT - When the McCausland city treasurer stole $187,539.85, she was sentenced by the same judge to five years probation after which her conviction would be erased as well.

Sibley, IOWA

Oct 26, 2007 - Joseph Bradfield, 45, an english teacher at Sibley-Ocheydan High School, was arrested on a warrant for carrying weapons on school property. See KMEG coverage. See Daily Globe coverage.

The warrant stems from an incident in September, where Bradfield was accused of having a loaded handgun in his vehicle while parked on school property.

Bradfield has been suspended.

KELO-TV expounds on the story. The gun was loaded and found in Bradfield's car. Authorities were tipped off by a student. The gun was in the passenger side of Joseph Bradfield's car in the parking lot. Bradfield had a concealed weapon permit that has since been revoked.

Special Play Plan

It's burdensome to teach a whole 5 hours a day. Iowa court agrees they need more pay.

Oct 19, 2007 -

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that school districts must bargain a special pay plan for teachers who work a full load of classes.

Today's ruling overturns decisions by an Iowa Public Employment Relations Board and a Polk County judge. They both decided the issue was not a mandatory part of collective bargaining.

The issue stems from a pay plan proposed to the district by the Waterloo Education Association. The union proposed a plan in which elementary teachers who teach more than 300 minutes per day should receive more pay.

The plan also required secondary and middle school teachers assigned to teach six classes per day to get additional pay.

The Waterloo school district claimed that, under state law, it did not have to negotiate the pay plan.The employment relations board and a district judge agreed, but the Supreme Court concluded the issue falls under definitions in the law that make it a mandatory bargaining issue.

TT - Those union contribution dollars at work.