Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA

April 30, 2008 - In Los Angeles, Steven Rooney, 39, assistant Principal at Markham Middle School, who was arrested in March and faces charges of lewd acts against a 13-year-old girl, was charged Monday with molesting two other students, one a 14-year-old girl at Markham and another girl he is accused of molesting in 2005.

Rooney was accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl in 2005. When no criminal charges were filed because she refused to cooperate, he was appointed assistant principal at Markham. It was in complete defiance of school district policy that dictates that the Los Angeles Unified School District conduct a thorough investigation even if charges are not filed. Common sense alone dictates if someone has been accused of sexual exploitation of a child, you don't make him assistant principal of a middle school. But, hey, it's Los Angeles.

The entry for Rooney is here.

The school district held a meeting with parents at the school that a Los Angeles Times columnist attended. The story illustrates how smug and condescending the school district is as they lectured parents on how to protect their children as if any problems was the fault of the parents. TT entry

SCHOOL RATING Markham Middle School rates a 1 (out of 10, 10 being best) at GreatSchools.net for poor academic performance that even by Los Angeles standards is abysmal. Only 53% of the teachers at the school are fully credentialed. Some 20% are first-year teachers. Unsuprisingly, student population is 71% Hispanic and 27% Black.