Lewiston, MAINE

An earlier complaint against him was handled in-house by the school district.
Jury verdict: guilty on all five charges.

Nov 1, 2007 - James G. Raymond Jr., 26, a music teacher at Park Avenue Elementary School, was arrested and charged with unlawful sexual touching, a class D misdemeanor.

The student told police that during a music class in early October, Raymond had moved her from her spot in a semicircle to sit next to him. She said he slid his hand up her skirt and touched her buttocks through the outside of her underwear. She told [Detective Chad] Syphers that Raymond's contact wasn't an accident.

The girl told her mother after school what happened. The mother told the girl she would report it to the school, but later had second thoughts, fearing it could ruin Raymond's teaching career. She decided to wait to see whether there was a repetition of the behavior.

In the meantime, however, the girl told school staff about the incident, and it was reported by them to police. The girl has stuck by her story.

In an interview with police, Syphers said the teacher at first claimed any touching was accidental or innocent in nature. But he later confided that he had an attraction to female students from kindergarten age to third grade.
Full Name: James G. Raymond, Jr.

AN EARLIER COMPLAINT aginst Raymond was handled in-house by the school. Raymond also confided that a federal agency is also investigating him for his online activity involving child pornography and that he had bought memberships at child pornography Web sites. His personal computer had been turned over to federal agents as part of that investigation, which is ongoing, he told Syphers.

TT - Don't miss the comments at the story. Some very, very thoughtful people. The sister of the mother commented as well. The mother was not concerned with the teacher's career but the possibility that it might have been an accident.

A prior story had commenters who praised the teacher and one doubted the girl and suggested she might have acted because of failing grades. The story is available, but not the comments.

Some of the comments from today's story can be found at at "Some things need to change" - at TT-News.

Nov 2 - School district insists an earlier complaint was handled appropriately.

ARRAIGNMENT WAIVED Nov 21 - Raymond was scheduled to be arraigned. It was waived when he pleaded not guilty.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Jan 18, 2008 - Raymond pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from accusations that he touched a student inappropriately.

BAIL CONDITION HEARING March 28 - Raymond wanted bail conditions changed so that he could be in contact with children under age 18. His lawyer explained that the request was made pending Raymond's trial so that he would be able to socialize and "isn't just sitting alone, isolated."

Assistant District Attorney Deborah Cashman objected to the motion.

She said Raymond was a popular teacher whose alleged actions might not be known to all of the parents who had children at the schools where he taught. He has acknowledged that a "little voice" tells him to put his hand up the skirts of young girls, 7 and 8 years old, Cashman said.

In some instances, other teachers were present when Raymond allegedly touched students improperly, she said. Adults need to be trained about how to supervise his contact with children, she said.

She asked that any contact with family members under 18 be supervised.

The judge agreed. See TT - entry Red flags at full mast.

ARRESTED (AGAIN) April 29 - James was arrested on charges of violating his conditions of release. On Sunday, an off-duty investigator spotted Raymond at Wal-Mart, in Auburn. Police said the investigator witnessed Raymond having contact with a person younger than the age of 16, a violation of his bail conditions.

Auburn police obtained security video from Wal-Mart which they said captured the incident.
Police obtained an arrest warrant and took Raymond into custody Tuesday afternoon at his house.

TRIAL August 11 - A jury has been chosen for James' trial. Raymond's lawyer says the trial is slated to begin Monday in Androscoggin County Superior Court.

GUILTY VERDICT - August 21 - A jury found James guilty on all five counts against him. James testified in his own defense, saying that he lied to investigators when he said he was attracted to young girls.

Buffalo, NEW YORK

Her disappearance sparked a police investigation. They found her sleeping in her car. Police located the 14-year-old boy in a mall. The school knew about the "inappropriate relationship" for two weeks and never notified police.

June 20, 2008 - Cara Dickey, 29, had been repeatedly warned by the director of the charter school about an “inappropriate” relationship with a student in the two weeks before she and the 14-year-old boy disappeared. Dickey is married and the mother of three children.

Dickey was escorted from the classroom after she was caught text-messaging her pupil was found sleeping in her white Ford Escape in Springville on Tuesday morning by state troopers. Around the same time, the 14-year-old boy was found wandering around a mall.

[Inexpicably, the news stories from this newspaper names the boy who is in the eighth grade, but we choose not to.]

Teacher was warned about 'inappropriate' behavior with 14-year-old pupil (Jun 18)
Two weeks ago, two teachers went to the school’s assistant director to report that they’d witnessed “what they felt was inappropriate behavior for a teacher with a student,” Cederick Ellis, the director of South Buffalo Charter School said. The first time they talked to her informally, the second time with her union representative present.

School administrators claim that they "monitored" her. But she was allowed to be a chaperone on class trip to Canada with upper-grade students, including the boy. On the Monday following the trip, school officials observed the two sending text messages. They seized the boy's cellphone and discovered messages from Dickey on the phone that “represent inappropriate expressions of affection between an adult and a middle-school student.” She was escorted off campus at 1:45 (time corrected in another article) a.m. The boy left campus between 1:20 and 2:00 p.m.

Fired teacher hasn't been home since she was escorted from school (Jun 20)
She was fired. Her disappearance "sparked a police investigation."

South Buffalo Charter School teacher and missing student found in different places (Jun 17)
Earlier today, counselors were called to the school, and administrators held meetings with the faculty and the seventh- and eighth-graders.
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TT - Another one of those schools who insist on conducting their own investigation and do not notify police. Police are now investigating. You can't believe how tacky the coverage of this is by the Buffalo Times who repeatedly name the boy and his father. Buffalo Times is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway company.

Local media seem to be taking the cue. One television station even had a picture of Dickey with her husband and three children on their news site.

TO THE GRAND JURY July 28 - The case has been sent to an Erie County Grand Jury. Dickey is accused of making a suicide pact with the child and she faces charges of unlawful imprisonment, promoting a suicide attempt and unlawfully dealing with and endangering the welfare of a child.

Dickey, who sat next to her husband, Roy, in the courtroom while waiting for the case to be called, remains free on $5,000 bail. Dickey is the mother of three children.

Besides the two felony charges, Dickey also faces two misdemeanors, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawfully dealing with a child.

New Bern, NORTH CAROLINA

Judge Peter Mack asked both parents at the end of their testimony if they felt that their children had been physically assaulted. Both said "no."

CHARGES DISMISSED

April 30, 2008 - Philip Beeson, 53, an East Forsyth High School teacher, faces charges of assault on a female in his new school district.

Phillip Beeson taught and was an assistant football coach in Forsyth County until 1998. While there, he was one of five coaches accused of drinking alcohol on school property, and threatened

with dismissal. A spokesperson for the school district says Beeson resigned in 1998.

The Winston-Salem Journal (Apr 30) reported more on the prior accusations.

In Forsyth County, Beeson resigned from his position as a teacher and assistant football coach at East Forsyth after an incident reported in November 1998 that involved six teachers at the school. Beeson was suspended without pay when the allegations surfaced.

One of the teachers, Douglas Shields, was accused of videotaping himself having sex with two female students and showing the tapes to others. In 2001, Shields pleaded guilty to one count of disseminating obscene materials and one count of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

School officials said at the time that Beeson knew about Shields' conduct and failed to report it.

Beeson now teaches and coaches girls' basketball at New Bern High School in Craven County, where he was suspended with pay after allegations of inappropriate touching surfaced.

TT - Parents complained in May about the delay in addressing student complaints.

June 11 - CHARGES DISMISSED

Two misdemeanor charges of assault on female students filed by police against a New Bern High School teacher and coach were dismissed Wednesday in Craven County District court.

The teacher, Phillip Beeson, was freed of the charges after two teenage girls in the case had their attorney, Michael Mills, request that their subpoenas be quashed.

One girl's mother and one girl's father testified that neither family wanted to talk to police or press criminal charges against Beeson. Both parents said they didn't think Beeson had assaulted their daughters.

Douglas Jarman, father of one of the girls, testified that he told police that he wanted the school to handle the situation. Elizabeth Nichols, the mother of the other student, testified that the parents refused to let their daughters talk to police investigators. Both said the school system failed the students.

CHARGES DISMISSED

Waunakee, WISCONSIN

Despite state law requiring school officials to report any reasonable suspicions of immoral conduct by a licensed educator to the Department of Public Instruction, Hirsch's resignation agreement stipulated no report to the state be made. And they gave him a "neutral reference." That was 2006.

Jan 3, 2008 - Anthony J. Hirsch, 32, a teacher's assistant for special education students at Waunakee Middle School, was arrested on suspicion of downloading child pornography from a group of Web sites being monitored by federal investigators.

The Federal Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement contacted Madison police last month to let them know that Hirsch was a subject of interest in an investigation.

Hirsch formerly worked in a similar job at La Follette High School in Madison.

WKOW: "This isn't the first assistant teacher in trouble with the law this school year. Former Waunakee teachers aid [sic] Jacklyn Kaltenberg is charged with misdemeanors in connection with an underaged drinking party in October."

[TT - A police officer was fired for releasing police reports of the investigation to Waunakee School District Administrator Chuck Pursell while the investigation was still ongoing, then called the deputy director of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The reason given? Because the officer's son was on a rival football team. The reason seems odd to us.]

Correction: Town misspelled. Thank you, poster.

Feb 29 - WKOW investigative report (Feb 29) that uncovered the 2006 agreement received after they filed an state open records request.

Read the whole thing. It's great reporting.

In the January criminal complaint filed against Hirsch, authorities stated Hirsch admitted to being “ ‘addicted’ to pornography.” Hirsch is also charged with the repeated sexual assault of another LaFollette student in 2003 during her freshman and sophomore years, when she was 14. Authorities said Hirsch’s past actions with the girl were uncovered during the child pornography investigation.

From the Wisconsin State Journal : Hirsch was not reported in 2006.

Hirsch was allowed to quietly resign from the Madison School District in 2006 after a female student accused him of inappropriately touching her leg, according to interviews and public records.

And a May 2006 agreement forbade Madison officials from notifying the state Department of Public Instruction of the girl 's accusations against Anthony Hirsch, who was a special education assistant at La Follette High School.

Madison Superintendent Art Rainwater said Thursday that Hirsch 's conduct in 2006 didn 't meet that threshold to trigger notifying DPI.

"The district agreed to the conditions set forth in the memorandum in return for Mr. Hirsch 's resignation because while the district had concerns arising out of Mr. Hirsch 's conduct, the conduct did not rise to the level of terminable offense, " Rainwater said in a statement.

"The district agreed that it would not file a report with the Department of Public Instruction regarding Mr. Hirsch because the conduct at issue was not of the nature that required a report be made. "

More importantly, the school had to agree to provide a "neutral reference for Hirsch.

The agreement required the district to provide potential employers with a "neutral reference " of Hirsch limited to title, dates of employment and salary. It was signed by Hirsch, Madison Teachers Inc. Executive Director John Matthews and district Director of Labor Relations Duane McCrary.

---------------------------
TRIAL - Jury selection to begin June 16, 2008 8:30 am

NO CONTEST PLEA June 5 - Hirsch pleaded no contest to the repeated sexual assault of a child. In exchange for his plea. prosecutors agreed to drop child pornography charges.

Despite state law requiring school officials to report any reasonable suspicions of immoral conduct by a licensed educator to the Department of Public Instruction, Hirsch's resignation agreement stipulated no report to the state be made. Madison schools superintendent Art Rainwater has said Hirsch's alleged actions did not rise to a level to trigger the mandatory reporting.

During the investigation of the child pornography charges, police learned of his prior actions.

When detectives asked the young woman if she had been involved intimately with Hirsch, she hung her head and cried. The woman said that she was 14 and in the second semester of her freshman year at La Follette when she began an affair with Hirsch, meeting him often at his condominium near the school, where they would engage in sex.

---------------
TT - Surely it is up to the district attorney to decide if the actions rose "to the level of mandatory reporting," not a school superintendent. How can you trust the word of a school district that made that kind of awful agreement?

That's the problem with school districts who conduct Our Own Investigation. They have neither the incentive nor the trained personnel to conduct a thorough investigation. They have no knowledge of the rules of evidence, and no knowledge of the laws that might have been broken and no authority to compel cooperation. And amazingly, most often, they never find the evidence or witnesses that police manage to find.

When the hell will that stop?

St. Charles, MISSOURI

It's rare that you get to read just how a school district investigates teacher misconduct.

July 4, 2008 - Joe Stacy, 56, a band director at Francis Howell North High School who abruptly resigned this year was accused of having a sexual relationship with a former student, according to a school district report. No criminal charges have been filed.

The school district report was filed with documents related to Stacy's divorce. Stacy's wife filed for divorce Feb 1. The district began investigating in March when a board member discovered an e-mail with the allegations, sent last summer from a 2007 graduate of the school. The report was completed by the school district in April 2008.

Francis Howell spokeswoman Jennifer Gasper said the district sent the report to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The office referred the information to the state attorney general, which represents the education department at disciplinary hearings to revoke or suspend a teacher's license. No such hearing has been scheduled regarding Stacy, who still has a license, a spokesman said.

The newspaper reports that the district also consulted with St. Peters police early on about the allegations that a sexual relationship with a student started in high school, but an officer said no charges could be pursued if the girl would not confirm it. [In fact, the district report says they contacted police AFTER the investigation was completed.]

School District Report PDF
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TT - What is amazing is the number of students who confirmed the relationship or reported that they saw e-mails from the student to the band director expressing concern that she might be pregnant. Several of the girls showed these e-mails to their mothers. The district report called for the teacher to be fired; he resigned instead.

At no time did the school contact the parents of the girl in their investigation.

At the time of the investigation she had graduated and was 18, however, the sexual activity may have begun when she was a sophomore and the district investigator concluded that there was tangible evidence that he was intimate with "a student on several occasions." Obviously, before she graduated. Interestingly, when talking to the police in that single telephone call, school authorities alluded to the one incident at the lake and told police she was over 18 at the time. There is no mention in their report that they informed the police of any prior incidents.

No police investigation would have excluded the parents from the investigation.

There is no mention in the report of the date of the e-mails regarding the student's pregnancy, something that a competent police investigation could have pursued and documented. Incredibly, one teacher warned him that the student "wanted him" -- a 56-year-old man! A former choir teacher "warned him" about the student. AND THEY DIDN'T THINK THIS WAS WORTH REPORTING TO THE ADMINISTRATION if only so administrators could intervene and make certain the band director was clear on the possible boundary issues?? Or offer a solution that would have allowed him to avoid the problem of an aggressive student, if they believed that was the problem.

Our fear is such investigations compromise evidence, giving the teacher and student time to erase e-mails or eliminate other evidence. Giving them, in fact, fair warning if they want to do so.

Our greatest concern about those "Our Own Investigations" is that students who do come forward are often ignored, their testimony, often given unwillingly because they don't want to harm a student or a teacher, is discounted as unreliable, hearsay, or insufficient even if they would make excellent witnesses. Even if they could provide police with the information to take to the parents to help confront the student who doesn't want to testify against the teacher.

What does that tell students about doing the right thing?

Strongsville, OHIO

Bacho was charged after a five-month investigation that prosecutors said was hampered by school administrators' delays in reporting the case.

ARRAIGNED May 12, 2008 - John Bacho, 32, a Strongsville High School teacher, was arraigned Monday on five counts of sexual battery accusing him of having sex with a 17-year-old student. He pleaded not guilty.

Bacho is a father of three. He resigned from the school after the allegations were made public.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer (April 29) after his indictment.

An internal investigation at Strongsville High School last November convinced school officials that no criminal activity occurred between social studies teacher John Bacho, 32, and a 17-year-old junior in his class.

But a Cuyahoga County grand jury disagreed Monday, charging Bacho with five counts of sexual battery and a single count of possession of a criminal tool -- his 2002 Ford pickup truck -- in which police suspect one of the incidents took place.

"Bacho gives all the dedicated teachers a black eye," County Prosecutor Bill Mason said. "We entrust our teachers with the responsibility of educating our children, not to become predators in the classroom."

The allegations first made by a friend of Bacho's accuser.

A special provision of Ohio law makes it a third-degree felony for a teacher or other adult in a position of authority to engage in sexual relations with a 17-year-old. Christine Scarlett, a former substitute teacher at Strongsville was convicted last June of sexual battery for engaging in sex with a 17-year-old male student.

OOI = Our own investigation is where school districts, oddly enough, never find enough evidence, but where police and prosecutors can, and do.

Hoboken, NEW JERSEY

Hoboken police are wondering why it took a Hobeken charter school six months before they contacted police about a teacher who was text-messaging students.
It took the school another two weeks to notify parents after he was arrested.

May 3, 2008 - Bryan Cunningham, 37, an assistant teacher at Hoboken Charter School, was arrested on child abuse charges for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages to a 16-year-old student at the school. He was charged with inappropriate conduct that could corrupt the morals of a juvenile, under the umbrella charge of child abuse.

When investigators recently asked the school why they waited so long, the school said they didn't have enough information to bring the matter to the police until March 28, police said. They contacted police April 2. Complaints were initially brought to the attention of school officials six months before the arrest.

Police delayed releasing any information about the matter for the first two weeks after the arrest, in order to allow the school to inform parents. The school refused to comment on the status of the teacher.

Police said that there should be an internal audit at the school to see if there are any more alleged victims or allegations in connection with the incident.
-----------
OOI = Our Own Investigation. Oddly, most schools who do not contact police and conduct their own lengthy investigations never seem to find enough evidence. It could be the lack of trained investigators who are familiar with rules of evidence and the law, ya think?

Lawrence, MASSACHUSETTS

SCHOOL DISTRICT STORY OF THE DAY
Such districts are poverty traps.

March 29, 2008 - Police are asking why they were not notified by the school when a 12-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a classmate. Police only learned of the assault five days later when the father brought his daughter to the police.

The state's mandatory reporting law requires that teachers and school officials report possible abuse of children. Assistant Superintendent Mary Lou Bergeron confirmed that the School Department is conducting its own internal investigation as to why police weren't notified about the incident that happened before the Easter break.

"It was reported by the teacher (to the assistant principal) and some how or another the communication didn't get followed through. ... That's our standing protocol, that we report it immediately. Our initial contact with police is the school resource officer," she said.

The school principal did not find out until Monday when the father came to the school. When he asked school officials about what they planned to do, the father said he was told the student would receive a suspension. When he pressed what other action would be taken, he said school officials told him that his daughter could be transferred to another class or to a different school.

The 13-year-old boy reached over to the girl's shirt and pulled the top of it out and then looked down her shirt. The girl told police she heard a the teacher telling him "to stop doing that," police said. The teacher denies that he witnessed the incident.

PREVIOUS INCIDENT

This is the second case in recent weeks of an alleged sexual assault of a 12-year-old female student on school grounds.

Two Frost School students were arrested late last month on charges of pushing a female classmate into a school closet and fondling her. A 12-year-old boy was charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. A 13-year-old boy was charged with assault and battery and battery on a child under 14.

WHAT WE FOUND

South Lawrence East Middle School Rates a 1 (out of 10) at Greatschools.net The school, like many in Lawrence, is 81% HISPANIC. The district spends $13,190 per student, compared to a state average of $11,642 for test scores results where only 14% of fifth-graders are proficient in math. Statewide is 51%. (Proficiency isn't a whiz bang performance. It means at grade level.) It gets worse by grade 7 and 8, dropping to 12% and 11%. Lawrence Rates 2 overall for their schools.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education information on the school is bleak. The Hispanic school population has risen to 85% in the current school year. Graphs

PAYING MORE FOR LESS The average teacher salary was $56,282 in 2006. (Found at bottom of information page.) A new contract with teachers signed last month granted them an 8% raise.

Under the current contract, teachers in Lawrence earn a basic salary of $37,000 annually. Those with a master's degree and four years of experience earn $46,229. A step 10 teacher with a master's degree makes $63,514, and the salary increases to $70,000 for a teacher with a doctorate.

Look at the size of their budget at the story. The school district is " the largest employing agency in the city with just under 2,200." (Found in nepotism story.) Not unsuprisingly, the school does not offer school choice.

SCHOOL DEMOGRAPHICS Standard & Poors School Matters on the 2007 school demographics indicates that while 86.4% are economically disadvantaged, only 14.6% are classified as language learners. In other words, language or lack of English is not the problem.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE The elected school committee (same as school board elsewhere) has a website that is not current. There are no school agendas or school committee meeting minutes there or at the Lawrence city website.

Lawrence, Massachusetts entry at Wikipedia explains the immigrant population. See Troubles of the 1980s and 1990s.
Category OOI - Our Own Investigation
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MANDATORY REPORTING Readers might recall a 2004 story when two boys in Columbus, Ohio forced a girl, who was developmentally disabled, to perform oral sex in the school's auditorium. The story made national headlines for days. Less well covered was the fact that the school principal was subsequently tried for failing to report a sexual assault and found not guilty, but it took another three years to fire her. TT entry for Regina Crenshaw.

Few teachers or administrators are ever prosecuted for failure to report as required by law. It's hardly worth the effort as it is a misdemeanor and no teacher or administrator that we know of has lost a license for it.

See our links for Mandatory Reporting requirements.

Battle Ground, WASHINGTON

Sex-starved, middle-aged women having sex with teenage boys, now this story.

March 19, 2008 - A father of a Battle Ground student plans to address the school board on its policies on reporting abuse to police and state child services. He should know. His daughter was was a fifth-grader in 2002 when she told the principal and vice-principal that Thomas Moody had been touching her appropriately.

Their reaction when the girl reported the abuse? They had Moody apologize to the girl. And then they sent both teacher and student back to the classroom. To a classroom where Moody continued to abuse her. She was one of 10 identified victims in a criminal case against the teacher in 2005. Moody was convicted of six counts of communicating with minors for immoral purposes.

Moody was sentenced again in December 2007 for possessing child pornography while on probation. He is now in prison, serving a 17-month sentence. TT - entry

Court documents show that the principal resigned shortly afterward, but for a different reason — arriving at school intoxicated.

Notably, the gir's attorney wrote a detailed letter to the girl’s parents on March 8 about what she perceived to be the district’s shortcomings with regard to reporting abuse.

She wrote: “In the files we received in discovery concerning other allegations of child abuse against BGSD employees, it was apparent that BGSD officials believed it to be appropriate to conduct their own investigation before reporting allegations to (Child Protective Services) or law enforcement, even interviewing the potential victims and the accused employee in cases of serious allegations.”

TT - OOI= Our own investigation. That's where school officials, without any training and absent any knowledge of the law or evidence collection, conduct their own "investigations" which allows them to discourage the victim from pursuing legal remedies, witnesses to be intimidated, and the destruction of evidence.

Thank you for state correction.

Worthington, OHIO

The recommendation explain the problem.

Feb 29, 2008 - Bill Williams, the superintendent of Worthington Christian Schools, resigned amid accusations of sexual harassment and improper conduct. He left his position on the same day that a report detailed the accusations against him. He has not been arrested.

The allegations arose five months ago. Two independent investigations reviewed allegations and concluded that all the incidents were "mistakes in judgment," but it also said that Williams had never been a danger to students. Williams said that his resignation was in no way an agreement with the allegations listed in the report.

Williams became the third Worthington Christian faculty member to leave the school amid allegations of improper conduct.

Last October, teacher Dwayne Smith stepped down after he was accused of fondling a middle school student in 1996.

A few days later, police arrested Jason Crary and charged him with sexually assaulting a student while he was teaching in Milwaukee. He later pleaded guilty to the charges, Connelly reported.

The independent report also made 14 recommendations for changes the schools could adopt to avoid future problems - including writing down and filing all disciplinary-related actions.

See Private school's leader resigns (dated March 1, 2008) from the Columbus-Dispatch.
-----------------------------------
TT - In 1996, Dwayne Smith admitted fondling a middle-school girl. He resigned, attended Christian counseling and was forgiven by the school and Grace Brethren. He was later rehired by the school but resigned again in October after being identified in the award-winning "ABCs of Betrayal" series at the Columbus Dispatch. Smith has never been charged with a crime.

The second teacher, Jason Crary, pleaded guilty in Wisconsin to four felony counts of sexual assault. He will be sentenced April 3. Three years after hiring him, Worthington Christian officials heard Crary had been involved in something inappropriate with a former student, but they didn't have enough information to fire him, the report found. See Columbus Dispatch series "ABCs of Betrayal" story on Crary. TT entry for Crary.

Ada, OKLAHOMA

If they wait long enough, the school year will be over.

Feb 21, 2008 - When a 4.0 student spoke out about a teacher who bought alcohol for students to celebrate a mock trial debate, he had to take the complaint to a school board meeting. Complaining to school administrators was useless. The school superintendent can't decide who is telling the truth, apparently.

“To this point in the investigations and the conversations that I’ve had with people on both sides of the issue, I’m getting two totally different scenarios which makes it difficult,” Superintendent Harrison says.

Once the superintendent began asking questions, Daniel says the teacher started approaching him at school, asking him to keep quiet about the whole thing. He says those confrontations are what prompted him to speak out.

“We didn’t bring this up. We didn’t want to be involved in this. We didn’t want to have to go speak before the school board. We simply wanted her to stop harassing us and leave us alone, and let the school do their investigation on their own,” the student said.

A previous story alleges the teacher supplied valium to a student on a flight to Italy where she was a chaperone. That she was intoxicated during most of the trip. She began confronting the boy at school and then calling the boy at night on his cell phone. That's when he decided to go to the school board.

The teacher has been under investigation since November. Another student tipped off the school about the drinking. The school maintains the trip was not school-related. No arrests have been made. The teacher is Kathy Lowry.

FOLLOW UP March 17 - Lowry has filed a civil lawsuit alleging slander and libel against the student and his mother.

Also named in the court papers are Sharon Dean, who is also a school employee, and someone else named Christy Dean.
It is unclear exactly how those people fit into all of this, or why Jane Cooper-- the other student who spoke out at the school board meeting -- is not mentioned.

The school board investigation is STILL not complete.

REPORT March 27 - Conclusion by Ada School Board attorney (who does not know how to spell teacher's aide): I do not find sufficient evidence that would support the school administration taking any action against Ms. Lowry based on the allegations made against her at the February 11, 2008 Board of Education meeting.

Pompano Beach, FLORIDA

The Broward school board is on top of things. A Pompano Beach teacher arrested in March of last year has been suspended without pay nearly a year later. His trial is scheduled for April.

TT entry for Hoever. TT - entry for lawsuit.

The school district previously investigated the teacher but found no justification to bring charges. (OOI - Our Own Investigation category)

Lititz, PENNSYLVANIA

Caught in the Blazer at the rear of Friendly's Ice Cream Shop.
Arrested again in March for contacting the girl. Bond revoked.

Jan 25, 2008 - Todd Sheerer, 29, a music teacher and band director at Warwick High School, was arrested and charged with corruption of minors for allegedly engaging in a yearlong sexual relationship with one of his students. The sex acts with the girl began January 2007. The girl is now 17-years-old.

An anonymous caller notified police shortly before 4 p.m. that two people were "engaged in sexual acts" in a sport-utility vehicle in the parking lot of a restaurant. When a police officer knocked on the window of the SUV, Sheerer got out of the back seat with his pants unzipped. He told the officer that he was a Warwick teacher and that the female in the back seat with him was 19. That was on Friday.

When police interviewed the girl on Monday, they learned that several similar sex acts had occurred in parking lots of businesses, including a sports bar, a quarry, a hotel and an auto repair shop. The two met four or five times a week. She was 17. Police say three other communities are expected to file similar charges against Sheerer in connection with the alleged sexual relationship.
Full Name: Todd Nicholas Sheerer

LEGAL NOTE: Pennsylvania law states that anyone 18 and older engaging in any sexual act with someone younger than 18 can be charged with corruption of minors. [A first degree misdemeanor.] Had the girl been younger than 16 when this started, it could have been considered statutory rape.. - From WHP CBS 21

Sheerer is the second Warwick staff member in recent years to be charged in connection with alleged sexual contact with a Warwick student. A former girls' coach Troy R. May was sentenced in 2005 to 8½ to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his relationship with a 15-year-old basketball player in 2003. - From Intelligencer Journal

Jan 17 - Warwick hosts district band festival for first time in 21 years

Jan 29 - Three more municipal police departments have filed charges against Sheerer. Police in Manheim, ititz boroughs and Penn Township Monday have charged Sheerer with corruption of minors for allegedly engaging in sex acts with the 17-year-old girl who was a member of the band.

Warwick School District superintendent John George declined to comment on Sheerer's employment status or even if the district has begun an internal investigation.

"All personnel have the right to due process. The Warwick School District is compelled to honor those rights," George said in a prepared statement. "Therefore, no additional comments will be made until the appropriate time."

TT - There is absolutely no legal restriction on releasing information about the teacher's employment status or disclosing whether or not the district is investigating.

There is, however, a very good reason why people in the community should ask how a teacher and a student could carry on a sexual relationship for a whole year and no other educator seems to have reported their suspicions to police. The first police knew about it was an anonymous phone call.

Someone ought to ask if any educator at the school reported their suspicions to the administration.

ARRAIGNMENT Jan 31 - Sheerer arrived approximately 45 minutes early, walking hand-in-hand with his wife and wearing dark sunglasses. Durng questioning, Sheerer's wife offered her husband an occasional pat on the back as a show of support.

During Monday's arraignment, Sheerer confirmed for the judge that he was married with one child, that he has been suspended from his teaching position at Warwick High School, and that he has no prior convictions.

The key components as to why the five police departments have gone with corruption of minors charges at this stage in the investigation, according to one investigator, has to do with consent, with the age of the student at the time of each reported incident, and the fact that there is no evidence that "sexual intercourse" took place.I

In this case, police have said that an "inappropriate relationship" began when the student was 15 (January of 2006); however, nothing reportedly occurred that has warranted anything other than corruption of minors charges.

According to one officer involved in the investigation, Pennsylvania currently has no law on the books that deals specifically with sexual incidents between teachers (or adults in positions of trust) and students who are minors.

Feb 7 - A hearing has been moved to Wednesday, March 19. The school superintendent fielded questions and answers about the case.

ARRESTED AGAIN Mar 1 - Sheerer was arrested again after he bought a new cell phone, which he used to contact the girl. Sheerer was out on bail and had been told not to have contact with the girl. His bail was revoked.

BOND POSTED (AGAIN) Mar 5 - Sheerer posted $250,000 cash bail Tuesday. He was expected to return to Garrett's office to waive his preliminary hearing on corruption of minors charges in his case. That would mean his case now will go to court.

District superintendent John George that alerted police about the contact, after learning the two were communicating. Police officers then watched the young woman for three days. They also obtained telephone records, which showed Sheerer's incoming and outgoing calls.Schofield praised the superintendent for his actions.

FIRED April 3 - The school board voted unamously to fire Todd Sheerer. The board also approved an administrative recommendation to pay the victim and her family $75,000 to cover counseling costs. A statement read by the district superintendent ended with:

"We remain repulsed by the actions of Mr. Sheerer, and we deeply regret the harm that he has caused. Because of Mr. Sheerer's actions, we apologize to the victim and to her family."

PREVIOUSLY INVESTIGATED April 10 - Sheerer was previously investigated by the school district after two students reported in January 2006 an inappropriate relationship between Sheerer and a 15-year-old girl. The district administration took "appropriate action," according to former Superintendent Dr. Stephen Iovino.

That "appropriate action" included a review of policies and procedures with Sheerer shortly after the 2006 incident, according to current Superintendent Dr. John George, who added that "Mr. Sheerer and the female student both emphatically denied any improper relationship."

The two witnesses were credible.

Dr. George recently confirmed that the two original witnesses have a connection
with two school board members."Relatives of two board members were eyewitnesses to an inappropriate relationship between Mr. Sheerer and the victim," Dr. George
said, adding the witnesses (high school students at the time) reported the
incident to "school officials" in January of 2006, two years prior to Sheerer's
arrest.

The investigation, however, was inconclusive. The investigation was ultimately completed and deemed inconclusive," George said. "The school district administration at that time issued a stern written warning to Mr. Sheerer, stating that any improper relationship with any student would result in his termination."

May 23 - Sheerer was arrested again for being in contact with the girl.

OOI = Our Own Investigation, a category that includes districts that investigate but never seem to find any conclusive evidence of wrongdoing, despite their lack of trained investigators and knowledge of rules of evidence. What's worse, such districts never contact police who do have trained investigators who have knowledge of the law, rules of evidence, and have the authority to conduct a real investigation.

Westport, MASSACHUSETTS

According to the police report, police were stonewalled by Westport school officials.

Jan 21, 2008 - Two special education teachers at Macomber Primary School were charged by police with assaulting a 6-year-old special needs student. Despite being charged, neither teacher was arrested and both remain in the classroom.

Renee Rego, 47, and the assistant, Linda Liberty, 46, were charged with two counts of assault and battery on a mentally retarded child, and one count of being a caretaker who permits another to commit assault and battery. A substitute teacher witnessed the alleged assaults and reported the incidents to Westport police. A paraprofessional also reported seeing the child grabbed “so forcefully that she ‘thought it had the possibility of dislocating his shoulder.”

According to the police report, police were stonewalled by Westport school officials.
Arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 5.

Macomber parents voicing support
There are three adults and six children in the class that was established last fall for children ages 3 to 6 "to avoid having to pay tens of thousands of dollars for each of those students to attend special schools out of district."

Police, schools at odds over alleged abuse
Superintendent says police police did not promptly and fully inform her of their investigation.
"I would have appreciated a call from the (police) chief," Dr. Galton told The Standard-Times Friday. She also said that school officials, who conducted an internal investigation, believe the allegations are unfounded; the two teachers remain on the job.

Sgt. Jeffrey F. Majewski, who investigated the incidents that allegedly took place Jan. 8 and 9, maintains that when police spoke with Macomber Principal Susan Wilkinson on Jan. 10, she did not share everything she knew until they pressed her.

"The school didn't volunteer any information," said Sgt. Majewski. "It would have been a benefit if we could have conducted the investigation with the school. Based on the circumstances, it was not possible, because the school concluded right at the outset (that) there wasn't any wrongdoing.

Ms. Liberty is charged with two counts of assault-and-battery on a mentally retarded child, and Ms. Rego is charged with being a caretaker who wantonly commits or permits the abuse, neglect, or mistreatment of a person with a disability, police said.

Sgt. Majewski contends investigators kept school officials up to date on the progress. He also said police did not arrive at their conclusions lightly, and they had consulted with the Bristol County District Attorney's office.

"It's not a perception issue," Sgt. Majewski said. "Three witnesses came forward. I believe the school is just having an issue believing this took place."

The parents also said they were not notified by any school official of the allegations, learning of them only from the police.

Jan 22 - An editorial from The News Herald urges the teachers be removed from the classroom.

The decision to allow two Westport teachers charged with multiple felonies against a child to continue teaching is irreponsible and potentially dangerous to students and the town.

They should both be removed from the classroom immediately, pending the outcome of the charges against them.

The newspaper asked, after learning that the school superintendent said they had conducted an investigation and the teachers would remain. "Since when has the School Department employed professional investigators?"

They conclude,

While the School Department might not consider the accusations problematic, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office clearly has a different opinion, planning to arraign the two women Feb. 5. That adds legitimacy to the claims and is more than enough reason to remove the two women from the classroom.

Doing so does not imply they are guilty of the crimes. Like any other defendent, Liberty and Rego are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But the risk of exposing students to danger — and the town to potential lawsuits should they be found guilty — far outweighs the risk of having insulted the teachers with a paid leave should they be acquitted.

Allowing the pair to continue teaching while facing these charges is outrageous and dangerous. They must be removed immediately.

COURT APPEARANCES Feb 5 - Linda Liberty was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Feb 26.

Renee Rego also appeared in court.

“I think this is outrageous,” said Mrs. Rego’s attorney Kenneth D. van Colen. “The school already has done its own investigation and found no wrongdoing.”

She will be arraigned on Feb 26. [It does not say whether the two are still in the classroom or not.]

Feb 5 -

"The school did their own investigation, and they found no wrongdoing on Miss Rego's part. A state agency did their own investigation, and they found no wrongdoing on my client's part," Kenneth Van Colen, Rego's attorney, said.

Parents and some teachers wore white ribbons in Fall River District Court to show their support for both teachers.

Rego is still teaching. School officials said Liberty was placed on paid administrative leave a week ago.

Feb 11 - Opinion piece by an educator who describes herself as "school psychologist, guidance counselor, and early childhood outreach coordinator" who worked with Linda Liberty and Renee Rego and described them a "dedicated, responsible and dependable professionals." I would, without reservation, place a loved one in their care. I trust them implicitly."

New category: Our Own Investigation OOI

NOT GUILTY PLEA Feb 26 - Rego pleaded not guilty. Pre-trial hearing scheduled for April 11.

Ms. Rego’s lawyer, Kenneth D. van Colen, asked Judge Gilbert Nadeau Jr. to not impose an order forbidding contact with the alleged victim, and the judge agreed. The school already made other arrangements for the student, Mr. van Colen said. “The school chose to let (Ms. Rego) keep on working,” Mr. van Colen said in court.

CASE CONTINUED April 11 - The case has been continued until June 6 as their lawyers seek background checks of witnesses and information from the Department of Social Services. Rego's attorney wants to review criminal background information on Jill Alberto, a substitute teacher and a witness, and Linda Liberty, the teacher's aide, and other witnesses.

Rego was originally charged with permitting injury to a disabled person, but in February the charge was reduced to permitting abuse to a disabled person. Rego still teaches the class.

Pompano Beach, FLORIDA

Mar 5, 2007 - Conraad Hoever, 43, a Blanch Ely High teacher, was arrested and charged with allegedly forcing himself sexually on a 15-year-old female student.

The student claimed he forced her against a classroom wall at the school and lifted her skirt and penetrated her. The school district says they that Hoever was in the process of resigning from the school, but had no other details. Hoever has been reassigned to a non student contact position while they conduct an internal investigation.

Update May 29 - The student is suing the Broward School Board. In what has to be worrisome for schools, the attorney is Jeffrey Herman, who has filed the majority of cases alleging abuse by priests.

Hoever had submitted his resignation on the same day, before the alleged assault, Herman said. But he later retracted the resignation and was reassigned to the district's textbook warehouse on March 5, said school spokeswoman Nadine Drew. In his current job, he does not have contact with students.

Drew said the school district had previously investigated one allegation of sexual harassment against Hoever but found no justification to bring charges.

Herman said two other female students told school officials they were assaulted by Hoever during the 2004-05 school year.

The lawsuit alleges the School Board violated the girl's civil rights and Title 9, her right to be educated free of sexual harassment. Because those are federal laws, the girl could win more than the state cap of $200,000 on awards against governmental agencies.
The lawsuit also names former principal Sam Scavella as a defendant. Scavella left his job in July 2005 and now lives in Georgia.

Lawsuit PDF

Feb 12 - Hoever was been suspended without pay. He is scheduled to go to trial on his criminal charges in April.