Bradford, VERMONT

Sept 16, 2007 - Richard Foster, 51, a 6th grade school teacher at Bradford Elementary School, was arrested Friday night on felony crimes against a child. The victim now lives in Florida.

The charges multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault on a minor; lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor; possession of child pornography; use of a child in a sexual performance; and luring a child for sexual exploitation.

After being released on bail, he attempted suicide.

The investigation is continuing and state police urge anyone with information to contact Detective Sgt. Tim Page at the Bradford barracks at 222-4680.

Sept 17 - WCAS-TV reports:

Police say the boy who had been most abused moved to Florida this summer and the crimes came to light last week when his parents discovered graphic photos of Foster on the boys cell phone. His parents contacted Vermont state police.

Sept 17 - From the Boston Globe: Excerpts from Foster's suicide notes.

Sept 19 - He was released from the hospital. He now faces federal, as well as state, charges -a federal criminal complaint charging him with production of child pornography.

INDICTED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY: Sept 28 - Foster was indicted by a grand jury on federal child pornography charges. Foster is already facing four felony state sex charges. He is being held without bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.

NEW CHARGES Dec 21 -Foster been charged with six new counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one new count of attempted luring of a child.

MORE VICTIMS - Jan 7, 2008 - Police have identified more victims. The total now is four.

MORE COUNTS Feb 29 - New federal charges have been filed. A federal grand jury has indicted him for nine counts of producing child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

GUILTY PLEA September 19 - Foster pleaded guilty to two charges of production of child pornography involving children under the age of 12. Under the plea deal, Foster will be sentenced to at least 25 years in federal prison. He'll also have to register as a sex offender upon release from prison. He will be sentenced in December.

He also still faces state charges of sexual assault that could add many more years to the sentence.
---------------
U.S. Department of Justice press release (dated September 19, 2008)

Foster is presently scheduled to be sentenced on December 22, 2008.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, the United States will seek a sentence of between 25 and 27 years in prison. Foster has agreed not to seek a sentence of less than 25 years in prison. His ultimate sentence will be determined by the Honorable William K. Sessions III, as advised by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Under federal law, Foster faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and maximum term of imprisonment of 60 years. He will also be on federal supervised release after serving his prison sentence for a minimum of five years and possibly for life. He must also register as a sex offender.

---------------

Child Pornography and Educators
TT - List of educators sentenced for child pornography.
TT - List of educators guilty, but not yet sentenced, for child pornography.

Bennington, VERMONT

Headline: Charges may prompt SVSU policy changes
The "may" is the scarey part.

September 23, 2008 - Shawn R. Pratt, 36, a paraprofessional at Mount Anthony Union High School, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to two counts of aggravated sexual assault against a minor and two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

When he was hired in 2005 Pratt had several criminal convictions, including driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana and domestic assault. He was retained even after he was convicted in 2007 of simple assault and domestic assault. Employees are not required to notify the school district when they are arrested.

On Sept. 5, Pratt was convicted of violating his probation and sentenced to serve 24 days in prison, which was to begin on Oct. 5. Four employees, including MAU Principal Sue Maguire, math teacher Mike Canavan, science teacher Charles Moses and Marge Collins, a special education aide, were listed in court records as witnesses for Pratt for the Sept. 5 hearing.

Moses, who teaches chemistry, said he knew Pratt in the classroom and also played basketball with him.

"I believe he's an incredible asset to the school," Moses said. "To put him in an institution would be taking an asset to society and making him somebody we would have to take care of."

Canavan told the court that Pratt was a "very kind and nurturing person," who was "perfect for kids" and a "definite asset to the school." Canavan testified that he was aware of some of Pratt's convictions, but does not believe that Pratt is a violent person.

"I personally think that that's not him," he said.

Canavan also said he did not think it was unusual that a person with Pratt's criminal record would be allowed to work at the school.

Collins said she has served as a mentor to Pratt. Pratt "made poor choices in his teens and 20s," but he has had "a real desire to change."

School employees who testified in Pratt's favor did so as private citizens, not school employees. According to Bennington County State's Attorney Erica Marthage, teachers at the school appeared at the hearing to testify on his behalf, trying to have the charge downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor, because Pratt would lose his job if convicted of a felony.

The board will look into changing the policy, possibly requiring school employees to report to the board if they have been arrested.

ARRESTED - Pratt was arrested September 18 after a 10-year-old female told her mother on Sept. 14 that Pratt had been "rubbing my thigh and he rubbed my privates." The incident brought forward other memories of sexual contact with Pratt that she said occurred when she was "2, 3 or 4," Bennington Police Detective Lawrence Cole wrote in the affidavit.

Burlington, VERMONT

Feb 7, 2007 - Jeffrey Buehner, 66, a retired Burlington school teacher has been accused of inappropriately touching a child he was tutoring and possessing child porn.

During the course of their investigation, investigators said Buehner admitted to them that during the 1970s and 1980s he also inappropriately touched students who he would have over for sleepovers. Buehner was arraigned and released on his own recognizance.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Feb 7 - Buehner pleaded not guilty. Investigators are reportedly looking for other victims. WCAX tv notes:

This apparently is not the first time Buehner has been accused of sexual misconduct. School officials say they were made aware of a lawsuit filed by a former student in 1998-- accusing Buehner of sexual assault way back in 1969. Documents related to that case have been sealed.

GUILTY PLEA March 24, 2008 - Buehner pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child in exchange for prosecutors dropping five misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography. The plea agreement allows Buehner to request a prison term lower than the two-year minimum, including a probation-only sentence, according to court records.

Burlington’s elementary and middle schools — winning top teacher honors in 1975 — before retiring to work as a private tutor, faces a prison sentence of two to 12 years. Buehner admitted repeatedly kissed a boy during tutoring sessions between 2003 and 2005 at the former teacher’s Winooski apartment, beginning when the child was about 10 years old.

The guilty plea came on the day jury selection in his case was scheduled to begin. He will be sentenced in May or June.

SENTENCED May 20 - Buehner was sentenced to two to 12 years in prison.

Buehner taught in the Burlington school district from 1966 until his retirement in 1996, after which he tutored privately. [Susan Hardin, Chittenden County deputy state's attorney] in recommending the two- to 12-year sentence, said the number of students he molested over his 40-year career was unknown.

At least three former students submitted statements to the court claiming to have been victimized, [Judge Linda] Levitt said. One alleged victim said he had been molested 30 years ago and had kept it to himself until Buehner was charged, Hardin said.

Moretown, VERMONT

June 1, 2007 - Jeremy Mullins, 18, a St. Michael's College student and substitute teacher at Harwood Union High School, has been charged with sexually assaulting an eighth-grade girl, age 14.

The girl and Mullins had been e-mailing each other through a MySpace account over the past couple of months.

The girl said she had a crush on Mullins, but that some of his e-mails made her uncomfortable, according to the affidavit; police have a copy of a "sex survey" Mullins sent her to fill out.

Also in the affidavit are copies of e-mails sent from Mullins to the student that try to arrange meetings in the school, saying "maybe we could have a little fun … I think we could meet up in the door stairs and figure something out."

He pleaded innocent.

June 7 - A short news brief reports that officials are rethinking their policy for hiring substitutes. They "removed 18-year-old Saint Michael's College student Jeremy Mullins from their substitute teacher list after hearing of inappropriate e-mails between Mullins and the eighth-grader in March."

SENTENCED April 18, 2008 - Mullins was sentenced to a five-year deferred sentence on the more serious charge of sexual assault and a one-year term - with all but 90 days - suspended - "for committing a prohibited act.

[A deferred sentence means probation for the period of time imposed, after which, if the defendant complies with all of the conditions, the record of the criminal proceedings shall be expunged (sealed or destroyed.) ]

Essex, VERMONT

April 15, 2008 - That must have been some school day.

Williams is charged with fatally shooting Linda Lambesis, 57, of Essex, the mother of ex-girlfriend Andrea Lambesis, at her townhouse; and Alicia Shanks, 56, of Essex in her second-grade classroom at the school two miles away, where the younger Lambesis also worked. Two other people -- another second Essex Elementary teacher, and a friend who lent Williams the .45-caliber gun he is accused of using -- were shot but survived.

Shooting spree story with unforgettable picture.

Pension Fund Shortfalls

Dec 27, 2007 - The Argus reports that pension funds in Vermont are on solid ground - except for the pension fund for Vermont's teachers. Those are funded at about 84.6 percent.

The Pew Center recently released a report called Promises With a Price, Public Sector Retirement Benefits.

There is another obligation the state owes former workers as well - other benefits like retiree health care, dental and life insurance. Over the next three decades that will mean $552 million to the state of Vermont, according to the report.

NEW JERSEY The pension shortfall in New Jersey is $25 BILLION short of the funding needed to cover its pension obligations as of 2006. In addition, the state faces a $58 billion shortfall for retiree health benefits.

Nationally, only 14 states have set aside enough to cover 90 percent or more of their pension costs.

---

The stories don't' link to the report, but it is here. (pdf)

Pew press release with links to state fact sheets as an overview. Sample

Because of a new rule by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the states are required to identify these costs in their FY 2008 financial reports. The Pew report is a preview of these numbers.

Bennington, VERMONT

Bolesky died June 18 before he could be tried.

Feb 5, 2007 - Stephen Bolesky, 63, a social studies teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School, is charged with first degree murder for killing his wife, Constance Oxley, a former volunteer librarian at the school, last July 10 by shooting her in the head while she slept. He was indicted by a grand jury on a first-degree murder charge in September.

The Vermont attorney general's office has filed notice that it plans to take over prosecuting the Bolesky case to prevent a conflict of interest. New Bennington County State's Attorney, Erica Albin Marthage, is married to Bolesky's lawyer, Brian Marthage.

Erica Albin Marthage took over the office from former State's Attorney William D. Wright last Thursday following her November election win, ending Wright's 20 year career as the county's prosecutor.

Newspapers are speculating that lawyers are planning an insanity defense.

Update Feb 26 - Lawyers want a local trial. [The judge had planned to move because of renovation of the court.] According to Tartter's motion, the state also wants additional time to prepare because Bolesky's attorney has filed an intent to argue insanity or diminished capacity.

Bolesky had surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor last year but Wesley ruled in October Bolesky was competent to stand trial.Bolesky is being held without bail at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.

TRIAL DATE SCHEDULED Apr 19 - A trial date has been scheduled to begin Jul 16.

RELEASED INTO HOSPICE May 24 - A judge released Bolesky, allowing him to be placed in a long-term medical facility where he is expected to receive end-of-life care

DEATH and ESTATE CHALLENGED Oct 12 - Bolesky died June 18 before he could be tried for the shooting of his wife. A judge has frozen his estate while his wife's sister pursues a wrongful death complaint.

Bradford, VERMONT

Heartache for everyone. How do you explain to a sixth-grader that their teacher is a pervert who preyed upon children their own age?

Sept 18, 2007

Despite reassurances from school officials, sixth grade students at Bradford Elementary School feel betrayed in the aftermath of the arrest of their teacher on charges he sexually molested two former students, an official said.

Richard A. Foster, 51, is charged with four felony sex crimes following a discovery by the parents of a 12-year-old boy that Foster sent sexually explicit photos of himself with his cell phone, police said.

Foster remained hospitalized Tuesday after a suicide attempt in which he slashed his wrists, authorities said.

"The kids have expressed a collective sense of betrayal," said schools superintendent Wendy Hovey. "They wonder if the compassion for students that teachers show is fake in some way.

"We talked about that and assured them, 'No, it isn't fake and it probably wasn't fake in Mr. Foster," she said.

A meeting of school officials, police and parents was planned for Tuesday night at Oxbow Union High School.

One of students' biggest concerns is about school dances and a unit in their medieval studies class many had been looking forward to, Hovey said.

A court affidavit said police had recovered a videotape that showed a third young person engaged in a sex act. Sinclair said that person had been identified, but police weren't ready to file additional charges.

Sinclair said school officials were attempting to reach former students of Foster's to see if there were other victims.

TT link to Foster.

Vermont - The cost of education

June 25, 2007 - A retiree from J.P Morgan joined a school board and did an analysis of state education spending.

His conclusion is that the state simply has more school staff than it can afford.

While enrollment in kindergarten through 12th grade has declined by nearly 10 percent during the past decade, total staff numbers have increased by more than 20 percent. Per pupil spending grew from $6,073 in 1990 to $13,664 in 2006, according to his findings.

Most of the spending on the nearly $1.5 billion spent on education in the state — between 70 percent and 85 percent depending on the study — is the cost of salaries, benefits and other staff expenditures.

He's a blogger and has posted his study online.

Substitutes

June 4, 2007 - After the arrest of an 18-year-old substitute, a Vermont school district hiring policies are being questioned.

A Vermont state law permits hiring substitute teachers fresh from high school and putting them in the classroom with no training required.

The substitute was Jeremy Mullins. TT - Link

Let's make her teacher of the Year

Apr 9, 2007 - A teacher who was suspended then dismissed won't be getting her job back - yet..

The School Board suspended Zielinski on April 13, 2005 and fired her on July 19, 2005, after school administrators found empty alcohol bottles and prescription medication around her desk at school. After Zielinski and the board tussled over the board's action in executive sessions, an arbitrator was called in to decide the case.

The arbitrator, Michael Ryan, found that the board acted improperly. Ryan, in his ruling, wrote that Zielinski violated the school's drug and alcohol policy and she could be fired for such an action. But ---- here's where it gets wonderful --- "Ryan also found that the school board could not fire Zielinski because of a clause in the teacher's contract that prevents the school from firing a teacher who is being treated for an illness, in this case, alcoholism. "

Both sides had 60 days to reach a resolution, however, the union attorney did not file within that time.

Zielinski can now ask the Vermont Supreme Court to hear the case, or she can ask for another grievance hearing before the high school board.

Zielinski was a nominee for Vermont Teacher of the Year.

VERMONT

Mar 9, 2007 - Vermont is considering a bill that would make teacher-student sex a crime regardless of age. Naturally, the teachers union is opposed. Vermont's teachers union says they support a bill that would protect children against predators, but not if educators are the only ones who are singled out.

The bill -- H. 471 -- was introduced last week.
The age of consent in Vermont is 16.

Recent court decisions have upheld laws that criminalize teacher-student sex. See TT link.

Apr 28 - as of this date, the bill has languished in the Education Committee.

St. Albans, VERMONT

Mar 1, 2007 - Melanie Hackett, a teacher's aide, was sentenced to 1-10 years in jail for having sex with a 13-year-old male student.

Hackett pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child, and one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, stemming from her contact with a Missisquoi Valley Union High School student.

The judge turned down an earlier plea agreement that would have meant only six months in jail.

Springfield, VERMONT

Jan 13, 2007 - Judson Bolles was principal of Springfield High School. However, the school board voted to let his contract expire. They didn't give a reason for their decision.

Unfortunately, Bolles may not have mentioned in interviews for the Springfield job that he had been arrested in Connecticut and placed on administrative leave twice while working at Brookfield High School. After Brookfield, Bolles worked at a high school in Germantown, N.Y. The schools there bought out his contract after details surfaced about the previous events

The Springfield board supported Bolles even after learning of the arrest. They said at the time Bolles had favorable references. No one says what the details are and he was never charged.

Update Mar 1 - Bolles resigned abruptly. His last official day was Wednesday, but Superintendent Rose Rooth would not say when he left. They're pretty confident, however, that he'll be paid, most likely the remainder of his annual salary of $82,200. (Although neither the Superintendent or Board member Jim Ball would comment on the compensation.)

TT- which probably means someone should ask exactly how much money Bolles received while he wasn't on the job. And, how much he was paid just to go away? That's not a personnel issue deserving of privacy. It's fiscal responsibility and accounting owed to the public. What a concept, right?

Thanks to a poster for update info.

Bennington, VERMONT

Nov 18, 2006 - Charges of child pornography possession were dropped without prejudice against Alan H. Baker, forestry teacher at the Southwest Vermont Career Development Center. School officials found child pornography on his classroom computer and evidence Baker had used the computer to visit Web sites that displayed child pornography.

Dropping a charge without prejudice means the charge may be filed again. The Vermont Department of Education, which revoked the accused man's teaching certification, said it would not return it to him.