Hughesville, PENNSYLVANIA

Teacher alleges rape and then wants probation.
Go figure.

Jan 3, 2006 - Jennifer Villacrusis, 35, a junior high school guidance counselor at Hughesville Junior High School, was suspended without pay, accused of having sex with a 16-year-old student.

The investigating officer alleges she and the student had sex at her office at Hughesville Junior High School and at her home in November. Her attorney says she was raped. Her husband, Michael Villacrusis, an English teacher in the school district, stands behind his wife “100 percent,” he said.
UPDATE: Jan 3, 2006 - A dismissal hearing is scheduled for Jan 22.

UPDATE: Jan 31 - Villacrusis has applied for entry into a probation program that would allow her to expunge her record. She waived a preliminary hearing that had been scheduled for tomorrow.
She is married and has two children. Her husband teaches at Hughesville High School.

From the Williamsport Sun-Gazette: Villacrusis apparently tried to avoid publicity by visiting the magistrate two days before her scheduled preliminary. They also add this:

Villacrusis alleges that she was raped by the unidentified boy, but police aren’t following that allegation up.“We’ve dropped the rape investigation,” said Cpl. Kevin Patterson, criminal investigation unit supervisor, who attended the proceeding.

The boy's mother said it is widely known at school who he is and he faces daily harassment because of the case.
Full name: Jennifer M. Villacrusis
She is due back in court March 26.

San Antonio, TEXAS

Jan 30, 2007 - Article, "Sex offenders are slipping easily through the school safety nets"

Rape. Inappropriate touching. Indecent exposure. Sexual misconduct.

These were the stories percolating on four San Antonio school campuses from mid-December through last week.

A teacher at Clark took his own life after a student accused him of sexual misconduct.
The Northside Independent School District investigated and substantiated the student's claim.

Why background checks are not enough.

Germantown, MARYLAND

Jan 31, 2007 - Substitute teacher Joy Royelle Morrow-Hargrove, 32, was arrested along with two other women for sexually abusing a 16-year-old male resident of a youth group home.

A long-term substitute teacher at Clarksburg High School, Morrow-Hargrove was having a sexual relationship with the 16-year-old, who was one of her students when was working at a high school in Clarksburg. She was dismissed.

The other two women are also charged with having sexual contact with the boy.

Phoenix, ARIZONA

Jan 31, 2007 - Anthony Wilson, 43, a an instructional assistant in the Roosevelt Elementary School, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the choking of his estranged wife in 2003.

He will face a mandatory term of life in prison when he is sentenced Feb 15.
Full Name: Anthony George Wilson

Update Feb 15 - Wilson was sentenced to life in prison. He won't be eligible for parole until he has served at least 25 years.

Richmond, CALIFORNIA

Jan 31, 2007 - Jennie Mo, 56, a teacher at Sheldon Elementary School, held her class hostage and used a child to shield herself from an officer after officials placed her on leave for "erratic behavior during the last two weeks."

After putting her on leave, they sent her 18 second-graders to the campus library while she collected her belongings from her room. Mo went to the library instead of her classroom and began talking to her students. When asked to leave, she asked the students if they wanted her to stay, and if they liked her better than the principal, police said.

When staff told the students to leave the library, Mo ordered them to sit and said nobody was going anywhere. So school officials called police.
"School officials asked her to leave, but she would not," Gagan said. "When the officer arrived, she made some comments to the students to the effect of: 'The principal and the police are going to do bad things to me, you have to help me.'"

Police arrested her on suspicion of 18 counts of false imprisonment, one count of battery and one count of trespassing.

Feb 2 - Headline: "Parents rally around teacher arrested at school"
Several parents told the newspaper "that their children said Mo did not hold the students hostage and that they chose to stay with Mo. Others [parents] said they felt her actions were justified." They plan to file formal complaints against the arrest.

TT- The children were 2nd graders. It is, however, Contra Costa territory, so consider the source.

Feb 2 - Prosecutors declined to prosecute Mo. Contra Costa County prosecutors said they have not ruled out charges, and are interviewing more students and parents to see if evidence supports criminal prosecution.

Mar 10 - There's a well-orchestrated media campaign to charge that bullying is a major problem in the Richmond school. A handful of Sheldon parents have stormed school board meetings in recent weeks to ask what the district plans to do about what they call a serious bullying problem at the school. The only problem is that no one, aside from Mo and a few of her students.

"Why is it that the only people who witnessed the alleged choking were students in Mrs. Mo's class?" fourth-grade teacher Scott DeVenney asked. "Six adults and dozens of other children were present, yet not one witness other than Mrs. Mo's students has been able to corroborate that the incident even occurred."

Weslaco, TEXAS

Jan 31, 2007 - Scott Fischer, a physical education teacher, was arrested after police found cocaine a search revealed steroids and 51 steroid syringes.

Fischer worked for the Donna Independent School District where a bus driver was arrested on suspicion of selling drugs to students.

KGBT4 reports that Cristobal Lopez, a bus driver for the Donna ISD, was also arrested. Police found 132 roche pills, .3 grams of cocaine, a marijuana cigarette, 20 bottles of tequila and over 32 hundred dollars in cash.

Police had information that he might have been selling roche pills to students on his bus route. He has been fired by by the school district.
Full name: Scott Kenneth Fischer

Houston, TEXAS

Jan 31, 2007 - Shanika Campbell, 26, was sentenced to two years in prison and five years probation for all counts.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual abuse of a child of of a child.
Campbell was an English teacher at Carver High School. She met the boy, age 16, through the school's step-teen program.

Feb 1 - From the Houston Chronicle. The sentence is two years - without parole. Followed by 5 years probation and she must register as a sex offender for life.

After their initial encounter at his home, the couple made two trips to a motel for an hour each time, then she would bring him back to school to ride the bus home.

"This wasn't dating," prosecutor Catherine Evans said. "This was dirty. It was just dirty."

Madison, TENNESSEE

Jan 30, 2007 - Margaret Thompson, a teacher at Neely’s Bend Middle School, has been suspended while authorities investigate reportedly inappropriate photos of her next to photos of students on her MySpace page.

Cross Plains, TENNESSEE

CONVICTED: Jan 30, 2007 - Jennifer Turns, 25, an East Robertson High School teacher, was convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old student will not be allowed back in the classroom, the state board of education ruled.

The board unanimously voted to pull the teaching certificate of Jennifer Erin Turns, who in August 2006 pled guilty to three charges of statutory rape. She is serving a six-month sentence in the Robertson County Jail and will serve three years' probation following her release.

Turns, who was 25 when she was arrested, will never be able to volunteer, substitute or hold any position in a public school in Tennessee. Her revocation will also go into a national registry accessible by other states, said a spokesman for the board.

Full name: Jennifer Erin Turns

Broomfield, COLORADO

Jan 30, 2007 - Bruce Wareing, a band teacher at Holy Family High School, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on a child by a person in position of trust. The allegation involved a 17-year-old female student at the school. (From MyFox: Mug shot provided by the Larimer County Sheriff's Office.)

Wareing was dismissed from his position at Holy Family on Dec 6.

Apr 13 - Unsuccessful search for updated information. Only this Denver Post article Jan 30, 2007.

May 9 - News release for Jan arrest. He was supposed to have a court Feb 9 date.

Lake City, FLORIDA

Jan 30, 2007 - Richard Parrish, 32, a teacher and coach at Lake City Christian Academy, was arrested and charged with having sex with a 17-year-old female student.

The girl's mother alerted police when she looked over her daughter's cell phone records and noticed how much time they were spending on the phone. The mother then found a credit card she didn't know about, and letters and cards from the teacher. Then she confronted her daughter.

Parrish is married.

Bunker Hill, Indiana

Updated from December 21, 2006 post.
Dec 21, 2006 - Jack Spencer, 56, Maconaquah Middle School social studies teacher, plans to plea guilty to having sexual contact with a 12- or 13-year-old student in 2002. He was arrested Jan 3, 2005.

Jan 30, 2007 - Spencer was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually molesting a former student. He pleaded guilty to the felony charge. He also was ordered to served two years on probation and to register as a sex offender.

Spencer took the stand and pleaded for no prison time, stating he had suffered publicly and was stripped of a career, retirement and dignity.

"I've made peace with my maker, wife and kids," Spencer said. "The last two years I've grown from the two years this happened."

Full name: Jack D. Spencer

Phoenix, ARIZONA

See if this makes sense to you.
Jan 30, 2007 - Some 52 teachers in the Phoenix Union High School District who were sent home from work in November because they did not have valid fingerprint clearance cards are back in their classrooms.

Since 2000, state law has required all teachers to have Arizona Department of Public Safety fingerprint clearance cards to be certified by the state Board of Education. Ultimately, teachers are responsible for keeping their fingerprint clearance cards up to date.

Some districts, as a service, do monitor expiration dates and remind teachers when they are coming due. The cards are valid for six years and cost $52.

While the teachers were unavailable, as many as a half-dozen teachers were missing from each of the city's 11 high schools, and substitute teachers cost the district $25,000 a week.

Indianapolis, INDIANA

Jan 30, 2007 - Patrick Ryan, 35, a part-time school librarian and teacher's assistant at St. Christopher School, was arrested Monday on a preliminary charge of child molesting,

He surrendered two days after police took a report that Ryan had "on multiple occasions touched a female juvenile family member inappropriately." The report was made by another family member.

Irvine, TEXAS

Jan 30, 2007 - Daniel Perez, 47, a physical education teacher's aide at Brandenburg Elementary, resigned amid allegations that he solicited a sexual act from a 12-year-old boy in November.

He was arrested at the school in December and charged with attempted indecency with a child. Perez is accused of asking a boy at Irving's Fritz Park to participate in a sexual act with him.

Parents were not notifed as the alleged incident did not happen on school grounds or during school hours.

San Mateo, CALIFORNIA

Jan 30, 2007 - Gary Poon, 28, an after-school teacher at Bayside Middle School, was sentenced to six months in the county jail and three years' probation as part of a plea bargain. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of possession of stolen property.

He was arrested on Sep 17 along with a 17-year-old boy when police found him with stolen property.
Full name: Gary Michael Poon
Mixed reviews for the school at GreatSchools.com
Emergency credentials for the school are 19% compared to 3% statewide.

Kissimmee, FLORIDA

Jan 29, 2007 - Stanley Roach, 32, currently a science teacher at William Dandy Middle School, was arrested after a former student says he had a sexual relationship with her. She was 14 at the time.

It was alleged to have occurred while he taught at Parkway Middle School.
WSVN news: Roach is married and has one child.
Full name: Herbert Stanley Roach

Las Vegas, NEVADA

Jan 29, 2007 - Carl Leiner, 44, was sentenced to 1 to 5 years for fondling a student. Investigators also say the teacher's home computer was filled with adult porn and one image of child pornography.

He taught fifth grade at Robert Lunt Elementary School. He has been in custody the last six months. He must register as sex offender once he gets out of prison. Carl Leiner is receiving six months credit for time already served. He will face a parole board in another six months.

LICENSE REVOCATION CONSIDERED June 11, 2008 - A story on the delay in revoking licenses for convicted teachers mentioned that the state Board of Education will consider revoking Leiner's license on Saturday.

Leiner pleaded guilty in February 2007 to coercion for sexual purposes and possession of child pornography and was sentenced to up to three years in state prison. He was released in March after serving about 18 months.

A former student told police Leiner had touched her inappropriately several years earlier and then threatened to get her in trouble if she told anyone. Police said they later found child pornography and images depicting molestation on Leiner’s computer.

Waukegan, ILLINOIS

Jan 29, 2007 - James R. Lobitz, 29, was sentenced to five years after pleading guilty to having sex with a sophomore student.

Lobitz' sentences will all run concurrent, and be served at 50 percent. With good behavior, he can be released from prison in two-and-a-half years. Lobitz must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. [Emphasis mine.]

Lobitz was an Honors English teacher and girls' track coach at Warren High School. He resigned Feb 28, 2006. He is married and the father of two young children.

Full name: James R. Lobitz

Elizabeth, NEW JERSEY

Jan 27, 2007 - Ravi chandiran Dhakshinamoorty, 41, has pleaded guilty to child abuse, admitting that he called and passed sexually explicit notes to one of his 15-year-old female students.

The Elizabeth High School teacher was administering a test to his high school biology class on May 25, when he passed at least four notes to a female student suggesting that he'd like to become sexually involved with her. He took her cellphone, got her number, called her while the class was taking the test, just so she would have his number.

He will be stripped of his teaching license and banned from ever taking another public job in New Jersey. His immigration status could also be affected, since the he was in the United States on a work visa.
He's scheduled to be sentenced on Feb 23.

Baltimore, MARYLAND

This one is old but particularly outrageous -- or would be -- any where except Baltimore.

June 28, 2006 - A school principal, Edith M. Jones, sent a letter on school stationery requesting leniency for a teacher who had pleaded guilty in August to carrying 2 pounds of cocaine. The teacher had been allowed to continue teaching until he was sentenced in early June 2006.

---> The teacher, Martius Harding, was hired despite a 2001 felony conviction for fraud and despite the lack of teacher certification. Harding was allowed to teach special education despite another arrest on cocaine possession charges in February last year and a drug conviction in August.

He was sentenced to 84 months in prison and four years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney's Office press release. Harding wasn't just carrying cocaine. He processed it and distributed it.
Thanks to a reader for reminding us of this one.

UPDATED TODAY

Joseph Barbee, the Louisiana special education and driver's education teacher, has been arrested -- again. The two new charges accuse Barbee of having sexual relations with two of his 16-year-old driver's education students -- one in January, the other in August.
This is in addition to the charges for sexual relations with a 14-year-old student. News item link. TT link

Guilty - that's the verdict of the jury after deliberating two hours.
Kathleen Garrett, a special education teacher in Seminole, Florida, accused of child abuse for her classroom discipline methods, was found guilty of one charge of abusing a severely disabled autistic child. The judge threw out two charges in the morning, and the jury did not convict on another. News item link. TT link.

Hollidaysburg, PENNSYLVANIA

Jan 27, 2007 - The Pennsylvania state Supreme Court denied an appeal by Terrence Sullivan to change the court-ordered designation as a sexually violent predator.

Sullivan taugh math in the Hollidaysburg Area School District and served as Bishop Guilfoyle High School’s basketball coach. He was arrested in 2004 for sexually exploiting teenage boys. Sullivan entered no-contest pleas to charges of sexually abusing the young men.

He was sentenced to prison for 13 months to five years. The judge ruled that Sullivan is a sexually violent predator, a designation that requires him to register with police and undergo regular counseling sessions.

Uniondale, NEW YORK

Jan 26, 2007 - Miriam Crujeiras, 24, a language teacher at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, arrested after she allegedly stole a credit card from a student and went on a shopping spree.

She has been suspended. Charged with grand larceny, identity theft and criminal possession of stolen property, she is due back at on Feb 6.

Stanford, KENTUCKY

Child Pornography
SENTENCED
Jan 26, 2007 - A Lincoln County band teacher -- Joseph Briley, 40, was sentenced on child pornography charges to 87 months in prison and supervised release for life.

As part of his plea agreement, Briley also agreed tos urrender his teaching certificate and never teach in any jurisdictions for the rest of his life.

Briley pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2006.
Full name: Joseph Hugh Briley

Press Release from the Office of U.S. Attorney. Dated Mar 26, 2007.

Cherry Hill, PENNSYLVANIA

Jan 25 - 2007 - Daniel Rice, 45, was arrested, accused of molesting a teenager. Authorities said Rice fondled the youth, now in his early 20s, over a two-year period. It's not the first time.

Rice, who was a substitute teacher and basketball coach between 1987 and 1989, gave "physical examinations" to students at the Woodland School in Barrington. Rice told students he was checking them for hernias, and ordered them not to tell anyone about the exams. One eventually told a parent.

He was sentenced to 10 years but only served three years - from March 1992 through January 1995.

He president of the Cherry Hill Stealers youth baseball league until July 2006 when he resigned after his arrest for failing to register with police as a sex offender. (Though he had lived in Cherry Hill since 2001, he had not informed township police as required by Megan's Law.)
In October, he received five years' probation for failing to register as part of a plea agreement.

6ABC reports: Rice is the married father of a teenage son.

Full name: Daniel J. Rice

Daytona Beach, FLORIDA

Jan 24, 2007 - Jessica Lloyd, a Seabreeze High teacher and dance coach, has had her teaching license suspended for a year over a 2004 incident where she allowed five girls to stay overnight.

Lloyd was charged with allowing five dancers to stay at her one-bedroom apartment the night before a summer competition. Her boyfriend also spent the night, according to a school district investigation, and two other men visited during the evening, all drinking beer in the girls' presence.
The girls told investigators Lloyd left them alone with the two male visitors while she and her boyfriend went out to buy more beer.

Her contract was not renewed at the end of the 2004-05 school year.
Incredible poor judgement.

Whitley County, KENTUCKY

Jan 25, 2007 - Thomas Pike, band director in several eastern Kentucky schools, pleaded guilty to four counts of sodomy of a 14-year-old boy in Whitley County.

His trial had already begun. The mother of the boy testified that she was actually dating Thomas Pike when she grew suspicious. She said Pike was always wanting her son to be with them on dates. She taped telephone conversations between Pike and her son. Pike pleaded just before the boy was expected to testify against him.

He's scheduled to be sentenced in April. He still faces dozens of counts of sodomy in Letcher County. He's pleaded not guilty to all those charges.

Lebanon, KENTUCKY

Jan 24, 2007 - Francis Lyvers, 23, a Marion County High School teacher, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of first-degree wanton endangerment. He was sentenced to five years of supervised pretrial diversion. He has to serve 90 days in jail and admit on the record that he had consensual sex with the victim, a female student, as a condition of his pretrial diversion. He was also ordered to attend counseling.

He was indicted last March. According to the indictment, he was accused of engaging in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 in December 2005.

Amy Hall was another Marion County teacher who admitted to having a sexual relationship with a student.

Full name: Francis Daniel Lyvers, Jr.

Cleburn, TEXAS

Texas, like Michigan, has a law prohibiting sexual contact between teachers and students. Compare the news media treatment in Texas and the media in Michigan.

Jan 25, 2007 - Ronny Yates, 35, Cleburne High School assistant coach and teacher, was arrested -- accused under what the newspaper calls a "controversal" and "devisive" law that prohibits sexual relationships with students even if they have reached the age of consent. (Photo courtesy of Cleburne Police Department.)

The school district would not comment on whether they had previous problems with him. He transferred from a middle school to Cleburne High for the 2005-06 school year. Officials from the Lincoln Parish school district in Louisiana, where Mr. Yates taught for three years before coming to Texas, also said they could not comment on his teaching record.

A relative of the student notified police. Yates was placed on paid administrative leave. He is still in jail awaiting arraignment.

From the Cleburne Daily-Review: If convicted Yates’ punishment would most likely be revocation of his teaching certificate and he would no longer be able to teach in Texas. Whether he is able to continue teaching in other states varies between states.

Full name: Ronny Lee Yates

See Susan Estrich article, "Should it be a crime for a public school teacher to have sex with one of her students?"

Feb 27 - Yates indicted on a charge of improper relationship between an educator and student. The charge is a second-degree felony.

Mar 21 - Yates resigned and his resignation was accepted by the school board. He will remain suspended with pay until May. Pre-trial proceedings are scheduled for Mar 30.

If found guilty, in addition to the court sentence, Yates could receive punishment from the Texas Education Agency, TEA representative Suzanne Marchman said after learning about Yates’ arrest.

“There is a variety of sanctions the agency can hand out, ranging from a written reprimand to revocation of a teaching certificate,” she said. “It varies on a case-by-case basis. ”When an educator is suspected of having an improper relationship with a student, TEA investigates, Marchman said.

However, if the law officers are already investigating, as in this case, TEA follows whatever findings they produce and acts accordingly. If convicted, Marchman said, Yates’ punishment would most likely be revocation of his teaching certificate, which means he would no longer be able to teach in Texas. Whether he is able to continue teaching in other states varies between states, she said.

TT - one of the few papers who take the time to contact the Texas Education Agency and ask about procedure.

Update Apr 2 - Yates was arraigned today and pleaded not guilty. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for May 1. He resigned Mar 19, however, the district superintendent said Yates will remain suspended with pay through May.

Collinsville, ALABAMA

Jan 24, 2007 - Amber White, 25, a kindergarten teacher at Collinsville School, was arrested and charged with trafficking illegal drugs and second-degree possession of marijuana.

Her husband and a second man were also arrested at the same time. Police found $4,100 dollars worth of methamphetamine in its ice form. The Whites were released on bond.

She placed on paid administrative leave.
Full name: Amber LeAnn White

Jan 27 - White is the third Collinsville teacher to be arrested on drug charges in the last few years. Charles Warren, DeKalb County Schools superintendent, said that one of the other two teachers was convicted and the other was not.

Jan 30 - White's husband was arrested again, this time for harassment.

July 22 - No futher updates at newspaper or in major search engines.

Braintree, MASSACHUSETTS

Jan 24, 2007 - Frank Campbell, a fourth-grade teacher at Ross Elementary School, pleaded not guilty to four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14.

After Campbell was reported to another teacher by one of the students, police began investigating. Campbell was the only teacher who had a desk in the back of the classroom, perhaps, detectives said, in an effort to keep other students from seeing what was going on at the desk.

"It is my understanding that they were witnesses to each other being touched. They had talked about it, how uncomfortable they were. They went to another teacher who they trusted. That teacher brought them to the principal and the school psychologist became involved," [Braintree Police Chief Paul] Frazier said.

Carter retired in December when the investigation began. He will return to court March 7. He was not required to post bail.

From the Boston Globe: Campbell, who lives in Marshfield, is married and the father of three adult children

Full name: Francis X. Campbell Jr.

Jan 30, 2007 - Editorial on 'touching kids'

What this case certainly shows is how careful we all must be now in our relationships with children – teachers, priests, counselors, scout leaders. It has been drilled into children's heads, and rightfully so, that they should tell an adult if they are not comfortable with any physical contact with an adult. High fives are fine. But sad as it is, a child could even misconstrue a hug.

Dover, DELAWARE

Jan 24, 2007 - Dion Savage, a former Dover High School teacher, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and a year of home confinement for what is termed [by WMDT] "the 10-month long affair" with an underage male student.

News Journal: [Calls it a sexual affair] Savage pleaded guilty to three counts of fourth-degree rape and a single count of possessing child pornography. [Bolding ours.]

Savage was arrested June 16 after one of his students reported that Savage had kissed him in Dover High’s choral room and offered money to let Savage perform oral sex on him. He was arrested again June 26 and charged with 13 counts of rape stemming from the consensual affair with the 17-year-old, 10 of which were dropped by the state in exchange for Savage’s guilty plea.

The child pornography charge were photographs Savage had taken of a second Dover High School student, which were found during a search of his house.

Savage’s case was hurt by a withering [not explained] pre-sentence report, which noted violation of probation in the only other crime on his record [not explained] and lies told by the defendant [not explained] at various points in his life.

The sentence interrupts what promised to be a prodigious career as a gospel singer....

"In his own statement, a tearful Savage apologized for perpetrating a taint on the community at large -– going so far as to ask foregiveness from Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, Sen. Joe Biden and other luminaries who had heard him sing and expressed appreciation for his talent."

Full name: Dion L. Savage

TT- What a travesty of a sentence. Newspapers and news sites calling statutory rape "an affair" is irresponsible and despicable.

Exeter, PENNSYLVANIA

This is a parent's worst nightmare in a classroom.

Jan 24, 2007 - Matthew Gelormini, 27, a sixth-grade teacher at Cornwall Elementary School was sentenced to 8 months to five years in state prison after admitting he had sex with three underage girls while he was on probation for similar offenses.

He was sentenced in August 2005 to eight years of probation for having a sexual relationship with one underage girl and making sexual advances toward another. The judge admonished him.

Ludgate said Gelormini violated other terms of his sentence by going to parties at Kutztown University to seek out underage girls, lying about successfully completing sex offender treatment and secretly accessing pornography on his computer, she said.

Officials did not know if Gelormini would face new charges for his latest offenses with two 15-year-old girls and one 17-year-old girl.

Full name: Matthew A. Gelormini

San Bernardino, CALIFORNIA

Jan 24, 2007 - The San Bernardino (Ca) Sun has an editorial entitled, "Problem teachers bane of education Our view: More scrutiny is needed to weed out tainted teachers" that needs saying.

They were responding to the arrests of Rogelio Alvino Cardenas and Eric Norman Olsen, just two San Bernardino county teachers who were arrested for sexual crimes against students. Parents and children protested outside one school.

It has left parents lamenting that no one is watching the teachers. And when it comes down to that, we're all in trouble. One parent who is president of the school's PTA said administrators should be doing more walk-through inspections of the classroom, and she has a point.

In light of the number of troubling allegations that have been cropping up of teachers sexually abusing their students, schools need to be doing more to protect students' safety. On-site inspections may have become a needed reality check.

TT- our view is that all classrooms should have cameras installed, both for the protection of teachers, and so that parents and principals can monitor teacher performance and appropriateness. And then hold administration responsible.

Pasadena, CALIFORNIA

Originally reported in December.
Dec 28, 2006 - Julio Cardoza, 29, math teacher at John Marshall Fundamental School, was arrested on suspicion of sexually molesting a 12-year-old student.

The Pasadena Star-News reporter quoted a "family friend" of Cardoza's.

"If anything, he should be lauded for all the kids he helped out," he said. "Instead, they're looking at this one little girl, who for whatever reason decided to turn around and say what she said."

Note: Including such extraordinary statements in an article about child molestation is to put unreasonable public pressure on a victim and her family. Unless, or until, there is evidence that the child has a prior history of unfounded accusations, every victim -- but especially a 12-year old -- ought to be shielded, and not just by having her name withheld. She certainly shouldn't be demeaned as "one little girl."

Update Jan 23, 2007 - Out on bail, Cardoza has been arrested again *** updated link below ** and charged with additional crimes one month after he was initially taken into custody on suspicion of child molestation. Additional evidence was recovered that led to the additional charges of possession of child pornography and two more counts of child molestation.
Cardoza was being held on $3 million bail in the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles.
Updated link. Article Launched: 01/23/2007 11:28:06 PM PST

Update Mar 27 - Next court date is Mar 28. (Source: Inmate Information Center) Bail is listed as $3,030,000.

Update Apr 13 - Next court May 07. (Source: Inmate Information Center) Link

Update July 18 - Unable to link to Star-News story or SGV Trib, but trial is scheduled for July 23. -

Cardoza is currently at the State Prison at Lancaster. VERIFIED.

Anchorage, ALASKA

Jan 23, 2007 - Frederick Deussing, 60, was arrested on 12 counts of possession of child porn. He resigned as vice principal at Heritage Christian School. "Some of the images allegedly recovered from Frederick Duessing's home were so graphic ABC Alaska News could not even describe them."

Police began investigating Duessing after he dropped his computer hard-drive off at a local computer store a few months back.

He's also worked as a principal in Nanwalek, Norvik, Noatak and Anderson. Deussing was also a teacher in Galena and an administrator for the Alaska Department of Education in Juneau.

KTVA 11 reports that when police searched his home they found thousands of images and movies. Many were of infants and toddlers.

Jan 31 - A pre-indictment hearing has been scheduled for Feb 22.

Anchorage Police Department spokesmen said Deussing’s extreme collection is among the worst images they’d ever seen, and signify a trend of collections of child porn becoming more violent, and with younger children. In this case, it involved infants, and bestiality with children.

“The nature of what we’re seeing now is becoming more and more horrific,” Anchorage Police Detective Kevin Vandegriff said. In the four years he’s been in the cyber crimes unit, he said he had not seen digital videos of the kind Deussing allegedly had until recently.

PLEA AGREEMENT July 12 - Duessing accepted a plea agreement. As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to consolidate the original 12 charges into one count. The agreement calls for a three-year prison term. No sentencing date given.

Toledo, OHIO

Jan 23, 2007 - Toledo high school teacher John Mitch Balonek was released from prison after eight months. He had been sentenced to three years for having sex with a female student.

One year ago Sylvania township police caught the married man in a car with the 16 year old girl. Prosecutors say the former Toledo city council candidate admitted to having sex with the girl who was also his student even after Toledo schools gave him a written warning to stop seeing her.

Balonek is barred from teaching for life. He'll have to register as a sex offender for ten years.

Nov 28 - Found at the Ohio Educator Conduct disciplinary action database:
Basis for Discipline: Conviction for felony sexual battery
Discipline Action: Permanent Revocation
Date of Action: September, 2006

Zionsville, INDIANA

Jan 23, 2007 - Lisa Hull, a business teacher at Zionsville High School and wife of the district's ex-superintendent, faces a felony charge of identity deception after being accused of sending e-mails to a school administrator using a former teacher's name.

Hull is the wife of Howard Hull, the former Zionsville superintendent who resigned a year ago today amid allegations that he'd used his school computer to send inappropriate, and sometimes sexually-explicit, personal e-mails to another adult.

As one commenter at the news site said,

What a poor example for an educator to set. These are the kind of people who we entrust to help mold and shape the minds and conscience of our young people. Scary, isn't it?

Indeed. Howard Hull has been hired by a charter school group.

Jan 30 - Lisa Hull has been placed on paid leave.

East Greenwich, RHODE ISLAND

It's not my fault; it's the alcohol.
Jan 23, 2007 - Jamie Cohen, 38, an East Greenwich High School assistant principal, charged with domestic assault last month for slapping his live-in girlfriend after a public dispute said he will undergo six weeks of alcohol counseling and was told by a District Court judge his charges may be dropped if counseling is successful.

Cohen is scheduled to attend counseling over the next six weeks and is expected to appear in court again March 2. He has not missed work at the high school since the December incident.

The administration will not take any disciplinary action against Cohen. Presumably because "he apologized to the [school superintendent] and the faculty and the staff and administration for causing any embarrassment to the school district."

Ware Shoals, SOUTH CAROLINA

CHARGES DISMISSED and lawsuit against local officials and newspaper editor.

Jan 23, 2007 - Jane Blackwell, 59, principal of Ware Shoals High School, was arrested for allegedly covering up for the school's cheerleading coach who was arrested last week. She was charged with obstruction of justice. (Photo from Greenwood County Sheriff's Office.)

Jill Moore, the cheerleading coach at Ware Shoals High School, was arrested for "moral offenses" involving some of her cheerleaders. "According to FOX Carolina sources, Moore was dating a National Guard recruiter and was recruiting cheerleaders to party. In at least one incident, a 16-year-old student had sex and drank alcohol with another National Guardsman." [See June 26, 2008 for resolution of case.]

From WIS10: The principal is accused of calling a meeting of the cheerleading squad and telling students not to discuss the case with anyone after investigators told her they planned to talk to each cheerleader.

Blackwell has been suspended.

SCANDAL? Jan 24 - The Index Journal calls it the "Scandal of the Town" and it might turn out to be. A parent openly worries,

Myers said she is worried Blackwell and Moore’s strong ties to the Greenwood District 51 school board could result in the “good ol’ boy network” prevailing over justice in the case. Moore’s father, Marcus Bishop, pastor of Mount Gallagher Baptist Church in Ware Shoals, is also a board trustee. Myers also said “it’s common town knowledge” that Blackwell and District 51 superintendent Fay Sprouse “are first cousins.” Blackwell and Sprouse’s fathers are brothers, she said.

From FoxCarolina: "School board members say it's perfectly within the guidelines to have relatives who work for the district. They also said they can vote on matters even if it involves a relative."

Update: Jan 26 - A South Carolina National Guardsman who recruited at a high school and a former cheerleading coach each are accused of having sex with students. Because all the students involved were 16 or older, none of the adults will be charged because the teens were old enough to consent.

SOB STORY JOURNALISM : Feb 4 - Sob story journalism at its best as local paper looks at fallout from the case and clearly enjoying the agony from both sides. The only facts are that Moore’s father resigned his post as a Greenwood District 51 trustee after the charges. Notes found during a search of Blackwell's office show that, in December 2006, Blackwell was keeping tabs on Moore’s “departures from campus with a cheerleader.”

WANTS PUBLIC HEARING Feb 20 - Blackwell wants a public hearing before the school board.

Mar 13 - Can find no further information.

REASSIGNED Apr 24 - Jane Blackwell, will be no longer be principal and will be reassigned following her arrest on obstruction of justice charges, Greenwood County school trustees decided early Tuesday.

COMMUNITY REACTION Apr 25 - Newspaper reported on community reaction. This tidbit:

Blackwell will continue getting paid as she has been since this all began. The district said her cousin, Superintendent Fay Sprouse, will decide what her new duties will be.

GAG ORDER May 11 - The judge issued a gag order so that law enforcement, attorneys and defendants involved with the case can no longer talk with or give information to the media. The ruling comes after video of Jill Moore being interviewed by investigators from the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office was leaked to FOX Carolina. The gag order was requested by the prosecution.

CHARGES DISMISSED & LAWSUIT May 24, 2008 - The warrant against Blackwell was dismissed March 3 by Judge Wyatt T. Saunders because the state failed to comply with rule three of the criminal practice which dictates the state has 90 days to indict once a warrant is issued. Blackwell is now suing Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman, Greenwood County Chief Deputy Mike Frederick, Ware Shoals High School athletic director Vic Lollis, Ware Shoals Police Chief Mickey Boland and The Index-Journal executive editor Richard Whiting for actual and punitive damages.

Blackwell was suspended with pay by the District 51 school board. She was later reinstated, taking a post in the district’s technology department. She has since retired.

LAWSUIT by STUDENTS June 28 - Two former Ware Shoals High School students have sued the school district and its board over the actions of former cheerleading coach Jill Moore.
The Index Journal of Greenwood reported Thursday the suits were filed on behalf of a former cheerleader and a former football player. The students were not named.

The suits accuse the school district and board of negligence in the hiring, supervision and retention of Moore, as well as other mismanagement.

LAWSUIT DETAILS June 26 - Ware Shoals grads suing school district over Jill Moore’s employment (Index Journal)
Each lawsuit levies four causes of action against the district and its board, including gross negligence, gross negligence in the hiring, supervision and retention of Moore, violation of the Public School Safety Act and breach of fiduciary duty.

Moore reportedly entered pre-trial intervention earlier this year, a process which, if completed, would expunge her record of any charges.Moore’s father, Marcus Bishop, was on the District 51 board at the time of her arrest and later resigned his position.

Maynard, MASSACHUSETTS

Jan 23, 2007 - Joseph Magno, 66, a Maynard High School teacher, died a day before his trial was scheduled to begin on charges he raped a 13-year- old male student over a three-year period.

He was pronounced dead after being found in his home Monday night by a friend. Cause of death isn't known. Magno had appeared earlier in the day at a hearing in Middlesex Superior Court.

From the Boston Globe coverage. Today, a judge was to decide whether the testimony of 14 other former students, now grown men, who also said the 43-year veteran of the Maynard Public Schools sexually assaulted. Magno was indicted in January 2005. He pleaded not guilty from his hospital bed.
From the Worchester Telegram: One of his accusers includes a police officer.
They determined he died of a heart attack.

Update: Feb 5 - The town of Maynard suspended its school superintendent pending an investigation into what he knew about a teacher accused of sexually abusing students. The school committee voted to place Mark Masterson on paid administrative leave during an emergency meeting over the weekend.

Masterson says he received a phone call in 2004 in which the caller said an unidentified teacher tried to molest his friend 30 years earlier. Masterson says he did not know the caller was talking about Magno.

UPDATE Feb 15 - Mark Masterson, the suspended superintendent, has been retained by the school committee by a vote of 3-2.

LAWSUIT July 21 - A family of one victim is suing the town of Maynard.

Marshall, TEXAS

Jan 23, 2007 - Joel Cepeda, 32, a Marshall High School teacher, was indicted again and re-arrested for involvment with a female student.

Background: Cepeda was hired as a shop teacher at Marshall in August 2003. Five months later, a female student made accusations of inappropriate sexual contact with Cepeda. The school district opened an investigation, but by the end of January, Cepeda resigned. More than a year later, he was indicted on charges of having an inappropriate relationship. The case went to trial in April 2006. The D.A. decided to dismiss the case to continue its investigation.

Last Friday, Cepeda was arrested on a charge of having an improper relationship with a student after being indicted a second time.

The Texas State Board of Education reported Cepeda's teaching certificate expired in August 2004.

Thomasville, GEORGIA

Jan 22, 2007 - Chris White, a para-professional at Thomas County Central High School, was arrested and charged him with furnishing inappropriate materials electronically.

Friday morning, a sixteen-year-old student in his class told another teacher that White had text messaged her cell phone and sent a picture of a sexual nature.

He was fired. He remains in the Thomas County jail.
Category: Dumb and Inappropriate, reconsider profession.

Baldwin, MICHIGAN

Jan 22, 2007 - Sidney Clute, 59, a Baldwin High School computer teacher, was arrested, accused of child pornography and "surveilling an unclothed 14-year-old male student." (Taking photos of a minor.)

He was arraigned on Friday. The investigation began after a child-protection worker who frequents the school became suspicious and confronted Clute, the school superintendent said. The 14-year-old boy is seeing a counselor.

Clute is on paid administrative leave.

Erie, PENNSYLVANIA

January 22, 2007 - Matthew Weaver, 31, a French teacher at at Seneca High School, was sentenced to 3-12 months pay a $1,000 fine, and serve 100 hours of community service. He pleaded no contest Nov 30 to to indecent assault charges, involving a 14 year old boy.

As part of Weaver's plea agreement, he gave up his teaching certificate in exchange for a more serious charge being dropped. That charge was criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 in prison.

Upland, CALIFORNIA

Jan 22, 2007 - Gregory Carroll, 45, a sports coach at an Upland private school, was arrested on suspicion of inappropriate activity involving a minor.

He allegedly distributed lewd materials through the Internet to someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl who was actually an Anaheim police officer. Investigators said Carroll also sent pornographic photos to the officer posing as the girl. Carroll never tried to meet the girl in person.
Full name: Gregory Albert Carroll

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Also noted in the article was Collins Onunwah Jr., 53, Lincoln Elementary School, arrested last week. (Our entry for Onunwah.)

Arrested on Dec 14, Franca Munoz-Juvera, 26, Munoz-Juvera's twin sister Antonia, and Eileen Valerio, 18, both of Rancho Cucamonga, were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal acts and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. (Our entry for the two sisters and Valerio.)

And, in August, substitute teacher Eric Olsen, 28, was working for Berlyn Elementary School in Ontario when he was arrested on charges of molesting a 10-year-old girl. He faces trial on charges of illegally touching six girls. He remains in custody.

Pahokee, FLORIDA

Jan 22, 2007 - Heather Burroughs, 23, a Palm Beach County substitute teacher, was arrested and charged with sexual assault on a minor after allegedly performing a sex act on a student at Pahokee Middle-Senior High.

She was working in the school's "exceptional student education" program when the alleged incident occurred.

Full name: Heather Lea Burroughs

Jan 23 - From the Palm Beach Post: Burroughs has been removed from the district's pool of substitute teachers. According to Burroughs' Web page on MySpace.com, she attended Pahokee Middle-Senior High, spent a year as the school's Future Farmers of America club president and graduated in 2001.

Staunton, PENNSYLVANIA

Jan 22, 2007 - Gerald Stump, 66, a retired Stuarts Draft High School teacher, was sentenced to two years of house arrest for molesting two young girls.

In September, Augusta County Circuit Judge Thomas H. Wood convicted Gerald W. Stump, 66, on two counts of aggravated sexual battery for the molestation of two 9-year-old girls at his Kindig Road home during an 11-month period beginning in December 2004.

Stump is a former Advanced Placement teacher and was an educator for 35 years. He retired in 1996, two years before the then-Stuarts Draft Elementary was renamed after his father, Guy K. Stump.
Full name: Gerald W. Stump

Jan 23 - "Prison would be a "death sentence" for convicted child molester Gerald Stump, who suffers from heart disease, Judge Thomas H. Wood said Monday" in sentencing Stump to home confinement. That was, of course, after glowing testimony of a former mayor, the superintendent of schools and other.

"He's the type of teacher I would hire over and over again," said Pam Ungar, the assistant superintendent of instruction for Augusta County Public Schools. Ungar said ever since the allegations of molestation surfaced, "No one has come forward to say anything against Mr. Stump."

Wood sentenced Stump to concurrent 12-year terms, suspending all but two years in ordering the home confinement with electronic monitoring. While under confinement, Stump cannot have unsupervised contact with any child younger than 18. Upon his release, Stump will be on 20 years probation.

Shortly after the sentence was delivered, the parents of one of the victims stormed angrily out of the courtroom.

Lakewood, CALIFORNIA

Jan 20, 2007 - Felipe Agredano, 37, president of the Garvey School District board was arrested early Saturday on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said.

Agredano was elected to the board in 2005 to complete a four-year term that expires this year, the site said. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley and holds a master's degree from Harvard University.
He is an educator at East Los Angeles College and Cal State Northridge, and he has worked for state Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, as chairman of a subcommittee on higher education, the Web site said.

And he ought to know better.

Baton Rouge, LOUISIANA

Jan 20, 2007 - Spencer Varnado, 50, a Northeast Elementary School teacher, was arrested along with five other men at a park during an undercover operation.

Varnado was arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercover officer.

The operation was in response to continued complaints from nearby residents about inappropriate behavior at the park, police said.
Full name: Spencer Dale Varnado

Polk County, FLORIDA

Jan 19, 2007 - Miriam Boateng, 43, and her husband were sentenced to one year probation after they pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

She was teaching high school seniors at Sabal Palm School within the Polk within the Polk County Juvenile Correctional Facility in Polk City... Sabal Palm is a public school for troubled teens.

They were arrested Nov 7 by sheriff's deputies and charged with one felony count of cultivation of cannabis, one felony count of maintaining a dwelling for drug use, and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The State Attorney's Office dropped the felony charges.

Deputies found 18 cannabis plants and a hydroponic watering system, along with loose marijuana, in their home, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office

She has been suspended without pay since the arrest.

Cedartown, GEORGIA

Jan 20, 2007 - Michael Davis, 21, a substitute teacher was arrested at Cedartown Middle School Friday after marijuana was found in his vehicle during a search of several Cedartown schools by local law enforcement.

Davis was arrested and charged with violating the Georgia Controlled Substances Act for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.
Ironically, Davis’ arrest came during an effort by numerous local law enforcement agencies on Jan 19 to help ensure schools in the Polk School District are drug free.

Eight drug dogs were brought to the school. While nothing was found at CHS, neither inside nor outside, police did find marijuana in Davis’ car.

The school teaches grades 6-8. Nice role model.
Full name: Michael Braden Davis

San Antonio, TEXAS

Jan 19, 2007 - Gerald Thomas, 46, schoolteacher and coach who worked in communities between San Antonio and Corpus Christi pleaded guilty this week to one count of possessing child pornography.

Thomas worked for various schools, including Karnes City Junior High School and Orange Grove High School and in Floresville and Beeville, officials said.

Sentencing was scheduled for April 18
Full name: Gerald Mark Thomas

Shelby Township, MICHIGAN

Jan 19, 2007 - Michael O'Hanian, 39, a Shelby Junior High School teacher, is accused of using a computer to send pornographic pictures to a former student. He is charged with distributing obscene material to children and using a computer to commit a crime. He's free on bond.

A trial date has been set for March 7.

Update Mar 28 - The trial for O'Hanian has been delayed until May 2 due to scheduling issues.
issues.

Update May 3 - Trial has be scheduled for June 19.

Sylmar, CALIFORNIA

Jan 19, 2007 - Eduardo Colocho, 28, assistant soccer coach at Sylmar High School, pleaded no contest today to molesting several teenage boys.

The victims were 14-17. It was not immediately clear whether the victims were students at the high school. Sentencing is set for February 6.

Update Feb 7 - Colocho was sentenced to ten years. Los Angeles Daily News purges news stories almost immediately. Look for it in google search.

Free Library has story. [Bolding ours.]

In January, Colocho pleaded no contest to four felony counts, including sodomy of an unconscious victim and three counts of oral copulation of a person under 18. Colocho was originally charged with 15 felony counts and two misdemeanors. He allegedly assaulted 11 teens between 14 and 17 years old.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Grosbard said he was satisfied with the sentence.

``The victims will not have to testify, which is difficult in these kind of matters, and society will be protected for a significant amount of time,'' he said.

Colocho is eligible for parole in five years.

[TT - no wonder the really bad newspapers like the Los Angeles Daily News bury such stories in their archives. They illustrate the poor job newspapers are doing in following what is inarguably the worst justice system in the U.S.-- in Los Angeles.]

Queens, NEW YORK

Jan 18, 2007 - Mia Peebles-Anderson, 37, assistant principal at PS 147, was arrested along with her husband, Matthew Anderson, 38, after police found a cash-counterfeiting machine in her home.

Matthew Anderson, on parole until 2008 for a previous conviction of distribution of counterfeit currency, was allegedly counterfeiting $10 bills to sell. WCBS reports that he sold $2,000 dollars in phony money for $600 dollars in real money to an undercover agent.

Both were charged with forgery and possession of a forging instrument. Matthew Anderson faces an additional charge of intent to use counterfeit money.

The New York Post reports that "the assistant principal has not been suspended from her duties, but a Department of Education spokeswoman said officials are looking into the matter."

Holiday, FLORIDA

Jan 18, 2007 - Phyllis Hodovan, 42, a teacher at Sunray Elementary School, was was charged with simple domestic battery and assault on a law-enforcement.

Hodovan kicked her husband several times in the face and then tried to kick a deputy as he arrested her. Her husband told a deputy that the teacher had drunk "a large amount of vodka" before their dispute.
Full name: Phyllis Myers Hodovan
GreatSchools school achievement.

Livonia, LOUISIANA

Jan 18, 2007 - Alven Greavis, a Livonia High School math teacher, was arrested on a complaint he had sex with a 14-year-old girl. He was booked on with carnal knowledge of a juvenile.

Greavis may have had sexual relations with another student. Police say that student is out of state, but detectives are trying to locate her.
Full name: Alven T. Greavis

Ontario, CALIFORNIA

Jan 18, 2007 - Collins Onunwah Jr., 53, a special education teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, was arrested for allegedly committing a lewd act with one of his developmentally disabled students.

Police were alerted when a faculty member at at the school witnessed a male teacher touching a 13-year-old female student in an inappropriate manner. Onunwah is being charged with committing a lewd or lascivious act with a child under 14 years old.

Based on the investigation, detectives said there may be more victims.

Update Feb 17 - Students in Onunwah's class were categorized as nonspeaking or less verbal, which makes it even harder to distinguish what they are feeling. It will make counseling difficult.

Update Mar 8 - No charges have been filed. The district attorney's office are still reviewing the case. His bail was returned Feb 28.

"His bail was exonerated and the case was taken off the calendar," said San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Jason Anderson.

"If we decide to file charges, we could issue a new arrest warrant and (Onunwah) could be re-arrested. Or we will just notify him that charges have been filed," and that he is to appear in court.

Apr 7 - A second girl, age 12, has come forward with accusing a special-education teacher of sexual misconduct via a claim filed against the Ontario-Montclair and Los Angeles Unified school districts, as well as against the teacher.

However, the Onunwah's bail was exonerated and the case was taken off the calendar. NO charges have been filed against him. The newspaper reports that it wasn't clear at press time whether Ontario police were investigating the second accuser's allegations.

LAWSUIT Jan 15, 2008 - Lawyers for two of the students are trying to locate Onunwah so they can serve formally papers in a lawsuit against the teacher by two families of special-education students

Stopping Predators in the Classroom

Educators and parents must play a strong role to safeguard kids - that's what Florida Today thinks is the solution to predators in the classroom in this editorial.

They were responding to the 70-year sentence given to Daniel Cliatt, a Florida teacher who molested a boy in his classroom. Starting when the boy was 12. Their advice is:

That's why the first line of defense remains parents who talk frankly about abuse with children, so they'll be less likely to let shame or embarrassment silence their concerns.

So start talking early and do it often.

TT - Our Teacher Trash view is that it's also a good idea to caution your child not to beware of strangers so much as to beware of those who are familiar to them who act strangely.

The overly-familiar teacher, the overly-affectionate family visitor or relative, the authority figures who go too far. The coach or Mom's boyfriend who seeks to be closer to the child's family to groom the child. The classroom has traditionally been the place where children can seek higher ideals. They should not be exposed to perversion and sexualization. Whether they are eight or seventeen, the parents trust the school to monitor the actions of their teachers.

Parents of one teacher who was convicted of crimes against a student e-mailed us with their suggestion that all classrooms be equipped with cameras. This would provide defense for the teacher. It would also provide a concrete means of monitoring classroom performance and behavior.

Both of the child and the teacher.

Both for administration and for parents who request an opportunity to monitor the classroom themselves.

Nashville, TENNESSEE

Jan 17, 2007 - William Haynes, 31, a Moore County elementary school physical education teacher, was arrested and charged him with statutory rape of a girl under 18.

He was indicted by the grand jury.

Haynes was also the football coach at Moore County High School.

Benton Harbor, MICHIGAN

Jan 17, 2007 - Thomas Golba, a former teacher at Benton Harbor's Countryside Charter High School, has been ordered to register as a sex offender, again.

After his 2005 conviction, he was ordered to register as a sex offender. The jury found him guilty of unauthorized use of a computer but deadlocked on the child sexually abusive material charge. Golba was sentenced to 3 1/2 years probation, 120 days in jail and was ordered to register as a sex offender. Golba appealed, arguing that because the jury did not convict him on child pornography, he should not have to register as a sex offender.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said the judge had the right to consider evidence from the trial at sentencing.

Baton Rouge, LOUISIANA

Jan 17, 2007 - Ray Clement, 23, a teacher at Redemptorist High School, has been taken into custody and charged with indecent behavior with a juvenile.




He is accused of rubbing and kissing the back and neck of a 15-year-old student, according to the arrest warrant. The warrant also said the two had been in contact with each other through Myspace. [sic]
Photo courtesy La. Attorney General's Office

Jan 18 - 2007 - The Attorney General’s Office began investigating Clement after the mother of his alleged victim became suspicious and placed spyware software on her daughter’s computer.

After reading her daughter’s Web correspondence with Clement via MySpace.com — another online community — and instant messages, the mother submitted her findings to the High Technology Crime Unit at the Attorney General’s Office. After reviewing the material, investigators interviewed the girl, who then admitted to her liaisons with Clement at his house and at school.

She is in the ninth grade.

Update Feb 2 - Clement is alleged to have had sexual relationship with a second teenager, according to affidavit filed this week in court.
He has resigned.
Full name: Ray Samuel Clement

Apr 19 - Clement was indicted on one count each of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior with juveniles and contributing to the delinquency of juveniles.

The Attorney General’s Office got involved after the mother of one of the girls suspected there was something inappropriate going on between her daughter and Clement.

The mother installed “Tattletale” spyware software on her daughter’s computer and shared the findings with investigators, an affidavit says.

Clement was released from Parish Prison after posting a $50,000 bond.