Jonesboro, GEORGIA

STORY OF THE WEEK - First school district decertified since 1969.

New York Times: (August 28)

A county school system in metropolitan Atlanta on Thursday became the nation’s first in nearly 40 years to lose its accreditation, and the governor removed four of its school board members for ethics violations.

TT - But they only have half the story.

Don't all school school board members go to dinner with the teachers' union leader? And you wonder why this school district is about to lose their accreditation for ethical violations?

August 20, 2008 - The Clayton County School Board members are appearing before a state Administrative Hearing judge to address allegations that they violated state laws when they put the district’s accreditation at risk. If found to have violated any laws, Gov. Sonny Perdue can remove the board members.**

[TT -** In March, Perdue signed a bill that would let voters oust board members if a district loses accreditation. In effect, it meant he wouldn't have to take the heat for taking over the school district to impose accountability and respectability. The law is ludicrous because the same people who voted the present board into power will not look for better candidates. This new tactic of having an administrative hearing is a means of ejecting the board in a last-ditch effort to avoid losing accreditation.]

At the hearing, school board chairwoman Michelle Strong (pictured above) testified that she had dinner with John Trotter, the chairman of Metro Association (teachers' union) , about five times in the past two years. Also attending was Boardmember Norreese Haynes, (who is Executive Director of that same teachers' union, pictured left in his booking photo) and Boardmember Rod Johnson sometimes attended the dinners, Strong testified. She couldn’t remember if any other board members were present. She testified that she couldn’t remember if any board business was discussed.

The board removed Haynes in March after police found he didn’t even live in Clayton County. Johnson resigned last week.

TT - In February, Hayes was arrested for assaulting a man who described himself as Haynes' "live-in boyfriend of five years."

Johnson's bio that used to appear on the District web page along with his picture, makes no mention of his wife being a Georgia state representative.

Reverend W. Rod Johnson was elected to the Board of Education in November 2004. Rev. Johnson has served the Clayton County community in a number of capacities: as pastor of Ambassadors for Christ Church, as a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve at Fort Gillem, and as a congressional aide to Congressman David Scott.

He is an educator in the Atlanta Public School System. Rev. Johnson holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Buffalo, a Master's degree in Education from Florida International University, and a certificate in administrative leadership from Georgia State University. Rev. Johnson's wife, Celeste, is a choral instructor in Clayton County Public Schools. He has one daughter, Genesis

His wife, Celeste Johnson, a state representative from District 75, is on the Children and Youth Committee, Interstate Cooperation Committee, and Legislative and District Reapportionment Committee. Her sponsored legislation. (Of particular note is this proposal.)
Her Bio
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TT - The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) will decide by Sept. 1 if Clayton schools remain accredited. It is the second time in five years their accreditation has been threatened. In 20 years, only three school districts have lost their accreditation. ( Biloxi, Miss.; Hartford, Conn., and Duval County, Fla.)

If you want to know what will happen if a union completely controls a school district, this is it.

Rod Johnson's wife is state Rep. Celeste Johnson (D-Jonesboro) who collected a paycheck as a teacher from the district while she was at the Capitol, instead of taking leave. She later paid the district back $1,858.

BODYGUARD Boardmember Johnson hired a bodyguard who used to be a school resource officer. This was after the man was fired by the school and subsequently indicted for - allegations of touching two teenage female students while working at a Clayton school. The bodyguard was Kenneth Jerome Alexander, fired from the district in 2004 - on allegations that he had inappropriate contact with two teen-age girls.

Another former board member, Duncan, who was appointed to the interim post in July, spent more than $2,887 on personal security to escort her to high school football games and other night functions. More than half of that money went to -- Kenneth Jerome Alexander.

Board member Sandra Scott demanded a football coach highlight her son in tapes. When he refused, he was fired.

The SACs report on the district eerily referred to the union control of the district. (pg 20)

"During the course of the investigation, it became increasingly clear that an elusive negative outside external force has not only permeated a significant segment of the Board of Education but has also infiltrated key leadership positions within the school district.

Previous TT coverage. Here Here Here
Jan 2008 Ethics Resolution of the board.
The SACs report contains dozens of ethical violations.
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DISTRICT INFO: The Clayton County Public School System is the 113th largest school district in the United States and the fifth largest in Georgia. Just 12 miles south of Atlanta, Clayton County covers 142 square miles and is home to over 270,000 residents.
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At the board meeting where Haynes was removed from the board (the vote was 5-3) many parents spoke out.

"Five hundred million dollar budget -- and those kids can't take books home," said one parent. "That's criminal."
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HEARING RESULTS - Recommendation to remove board members
August 27 - Administrative Judge Michael Malihi of the Office of State Administrative Hearings said Wednesday that Michelle Strong, Sandra Scott, Lois Baines-Hunter and Yolanda Everett should be removed for violating Georgia’s Open Meetings act and the state ethics code.

The probative evidence shows that the respondents have violated the Georgia Open Meetings Act, have violated the board’s code of ethics for board members, and have engaged in conduct unbecoming of a board member and in breach of the public trust,” Malihi wrote Perdue Wednesday in his ruling.

He said he found repeated Open Meetings violations and egregious behavior by board members, including name-calling and verbal attacks. He was also critical of outside influence from leaders of two rival teachers unions.

Clayton Schools lose their accreditation.
August 28 - From the Atlanta Journal and Constitution:

The stunning loss of accreditation for Clayton County schools left students, parents and residents reeling Thursday at the realization of “worthless” diplomas, dashed college dreams, depressed home values and an exodus of families.

The troubled 50,000-student district will become the first in the nation to lose accreditation since 1969.

The loss of accreditation came hours before Purdue ordered the removal of four school board members. The decision by the national Accreditation Commission was unanimous.

As many as 2,000 students failed to return to the district this school year, and officials expected more would leave for other districts.

GOVERNOR REMOVES BOARD MEMBERS (belatedly)
August 27 - Governor Purdue issued an Executive Order removing four member sof the board. The Executive Order also formally removed Rod Johnson (TT - See above.)and Norreese Haynes who had previously resigned or been removed.

St, Francis, WISCONSIN

Her parents must be soooooo proud.

March 21, 2008 - Kelly Sweet, 26, an 8th grade teacher at Deer Creek Intermediate School, was charged with one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy.

Sweet taught at Deer Creek for the last four years. The 14-year-old student told Milwaukee police that he and Sweet had sexual contact earlier this month in her downtown Milwaukee apartment while watching movies on her couch. Sweet is due back in Milwaukee County Circuit Court April 3rd.
Full Name: Kelly Marie Sweet
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WE FOUND: Criminal complaint PDF
Smoking Gun entry for Sweet. (with criminal complaint) and huge picture of her.

Milwaukee County Case Number 2008CF001367 Search here
Status conference scheduled for June 2nd 8:30 am Milwaukee County Courthouse
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SENTENCED (sorta) August 26 - Sweet pleaded guilty today to fourth-degree sexual assault, (a misdemeanor) for having sexual contact with a 14-year-old student. She was sentenced to serve 25 days in jail - not prison - and placed on two years of probation. She also permanently relinquished her Wisconsin teaching license. She was ordered to register as a sex offender for the duration of her probation.

Although the victim’s family members did not want to talk on camera, they were not happy with the lack of jail time in this case.

Sweet now lives in Jefferson County and works as a paralegal in her father's law firm.
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WE FOUND: The Journal Sentinel blog, Proof and Hearsay, (August 27) responded in "Teacher makes out with student." to comments about the sentencing with their own question: "Honestly, would you expect the same legal outcome? " Which, it might be said, is a lot easier than actually researching to see if sentencing results for males and females convicted of the same crimes is unfair and unequal and is an injustice to the victim. The newspaper certainly has the resources to conduct such an investigation by examining sentencing data.

SENTENCING GUIDELINES Wisconsin has sentencing guidelines online from the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission for the top 11 crimes committed in the state. There are penalty enhancers for hate crimes and crimes committed in a school zone, but look at the list of Risk Factors in this Guideline for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child. (A Class "C" felony. Wisconsin Statute 948.02(2) (PDF) See page 2. (Or see NXT Infobase.)

Risk Factors (See their Guideline Notes. pg 5.) are defined as concerns for future risk and the need to incapacitate the defendant to safeguard public safety. Sex of the defendant is not a listed factor. Employment and education are, as is alcohol abuse by the defendant and claims of sexual abuse by the defendant.

Some 60% of those sentenced for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child receive probation. (From the Guideline for 2nd Degree Assault of a Child linked to above.)

If a preponderance of concern in sentencing as seen in the worksheet is for the risk of reoffending, no doubt, women are not considered as high a risk as men. The sex of the defendant may not be in the guidelines, but in the courtroom, it is visually obvious and cannot help to be a factor. Women are simply not viewed as predators to the degree men are. And judging by the comments at the story, some juvenile males are fully convinced this is rightly so. Certainly the newspaper makes no judgement, which is seriously worrying.

Isn't it the duty and obligation of a newspaper to inform and educate their readers?

Sweet pleaded to 4th Degree Sexual Assault can be found here (PDF) (on pg 9.) 940.22.3m

Mentor, OHIO

The boy had just completed ninth grade.
Former Student Teacher of the Year at her college and sex acts in a classroom before school started.
Sentenced to three years in prison.

June 19, 2008 - Maggie Laughlin, 23, a math teacher at Shore Junior High School, was arrested Wednesday and arraigned Thursday on one count of of sexual battery and one count of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.

Sex acts with the student, who just completed ninth grade, were conducted in a classroom before school started, said Capt. James Telzrow.

The relationship with the 15-year-old male began in May. Laughlin resigned in June. She had been with the district less than a year.

First article says that the authorities became aware of the relationship when the boy's ex-girlfriend's mother contacted a school official. Second article states that "Administrators say they were informed of the alleged sexual contact between teacher and student by another student on June 12 and immediately notified Mentor Police."

"This crime is a devastating betrayal of the fundamental trust that parents put in their children's teachers ever day," said Dr. Jacqueline Hoynes, superintendent of schools.
. . .
"We are grateful that one of our students had the courage to tell a teacher about this situation," Hoynes said. "It is so important that students take the appropriate action when they have information like this, and we will continue to strive to create an environment in our schools where students can do so."

Article at the Cleveland Plain Dealer states that another student told a coach about the sexual activity. Police and school officials said there were eight to 10 incidents of sexual misconduct between the student and the math teacher but not intercourse.

She is originally from Dayton and had been Student Teacher of the Year at Heidelberg College, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2007, according to the school's Web site.

Laughlin had resigned from Shore on June 9 - before the police investigation began - and planned to move to Michigan, officials said.

June 20 - Teacher faces sex charges (News-Herald)
Laughlin performed oral sex on the boy before classes. It happened eight times between May 28 and June 12, when the alleged relationship came to light.

Officials learned about the suspected relationship through the boy's former girlfriend. When the boy told her he was cheating on her with a teacher, she was too upset to go to sports practice. She told her mother, who told her coach, who informed Shore Junior High School Principal Doug Baker, police said.

Laughlin had been planning to move to Michigan with her fiance, which is why the prosecution asked for a higher bond. The judge set it at $200,000.

Laughlin's preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 26.

GUILTY PLEA August 13 - Laughlin pleaded guilty to Wednesday to eight counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a juvenile.

"I became involved with a student and the relationship became sexual in nature and I performed oral sex on him," Laughlin said to Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Paul Mitrovich.

She will be sentenced later this month.

SENTENCED August 28 - Laughlin was sentenced to three years in prison, the time requested by the prosecution. The job at Shore teaching math was Laughlin's first teaching assignment out of college.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer: (August 28) She claimed the ninth grader initiated the relationship when he got access to her cell phone number and began sending her text messages. Assistant Prosecutor Jason Wuliger said Laughlin on her behavior.

"She corrupted the school, lied to other teachers and asked other students who witnessed the behavior to keep her secret," Wuliger said.

Lake County Common Pleas Judge Paul Mitrovich sentenced her. "As a teacher you were placed in a position of trust," Mitrovich said. "You showed uncaring selfishness on your part."

Laughlin will be a registered sex offender for twenty-five years.

School officials and a lawyer talk to first-year teachers about inappropriate behavior in the classroom, including what constitutes sexual battery, before the school year begins, Carrabine said.

"This year we specifically addressed Maggie's incident and hammered it home," he said. "We told teachers never to meet with the student one on one with the door closed, never to meet before school starts and not to meet with a student without an administrator in the building."
Laughlin will relinquish her teaching license and have to register her address every six months for the next 25 years.

November 3 - Three months after being sentenced, she is seeking release.
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TT - Several things require comment. One, her license should be revoked automatically upon such a conviction. That would be a punitive action and speak positively about how the educational bureaucracy views such behavior. It is automatic in Ohio but it also means the teacher has the right of appeal. Still, it sends a bad message.

Secondly, teacher training in a lot of school districts is conducted by a teachers union lawyer or a lawyer for the school district whose focus is on district liability and false accusations and how to avoid them, not on how teachers have a moral obligation to students and to their parents to avoid sexual exploitation of students.

That's hardly the kind of ethical training you want for your child's teacher. And it leads to a widespread belief by teachers and administrators that when a student complains about sexual exploitation, the charges have no merit. It is automatically thought of as false, malicious and slanderous, rather than indecent, immoral and disgusting behavior on the part of the teacher.

For those teachers who do see the colleague's behavior as unethical and illegal, they can't miss the broadest implication. Turning in another teacher isn't in the game plan and shouldn't be in theirs, not if they want to be defended by the same union lawyers if they should be accused. And not if they want to be supported by the administration. Such training should be conducted by a local prosecutor and police detectives.

Hopefully, one of the really, really good newspapers, like the Columbus Dispatch that has done so much to bring accountability, open records and responsible legislation will investigate the so-called teacher training programs in school districts in the state.

Bruceton Mills, WEST VIRGINIA

Sentenced for the murder of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old son.

Apr 17, 2007 - James DeGasperin, 35, a health and physical education teacher at Bruceton School, was arrested, charged with killing his girlfriend, Lori Casteel and Collin Casteel, and her 4-year-old son.

Police found the bodies of the woman and her son several hundred yards from the house. The victims, who were not identified pending notification of next of kin, died of "substantial blunt force trauma to the head."

The Register-Herald: The court complaint said DeGasperin bludgeoned his live-in girlfriend and her son to death with a baseball bat.

According to court documents, a witness, Terry Knotts, told Preston County Lt. Joe Stiles that DeGasperin admitted to killing Casteel and asked “Knotts to help him dispose of the body.” It was Knotts who told police that DeGasperin had used a baseball bat. Police said the woman was living with DeGasperin.
Full Name: James Louis DeGasperin

PRELIMINARY: Apr 25 - At a preliminary, a friend testified that DeGasperin called him to help hide the body. Trooper Joe Portato testified that when he showed up at the house, DeGasperin looked at him and said, "I'm a really good guy, I just snapped."

The case is now headed to the grand jury. An autopsy revealed that Casteel was also six months pregnant. Prosecutors say DeGasperin will not be charged with the third murder until his is indicted.

Update Apr 27 - A grand jury will decide on the charges against DeGasperin. The next one is to be convened in June. In the meantime, an autopsy revealed that Collin, age 4, also was shot in the chest.

GRAND JURY CONVENED August 28: special session of the grand jury convened Tuesday morning to indict a Preston County man.

INDICTED August 30 - James Louis DeGasperin was indicted on three counts of first-degree murder. The third charge is only the second time someone in West Virginia has been charged under West Virginia's Unborn Victims of Violence Act that was passed in 2005.

CONVICTED and SENTENCED August 27 - After being convicted by a jury on three counts of second-degree murder and two counts of concealing Collin and Lori Casteel's bodies, DeGasperin was sentenced to 30 years in prson on each murder count and 1 to 5 years on each count of concealment.

He will serve each of those sentences consecutively and will be given credit for time he has already served.

La Mesa, CALIFORNIA

We've dubbed this Promiscuous High.

May 20, 2008 - Garry Wilcox, 43, geography teacher and soccer coach at Helix High School, was arrested for allegedly having sex with an underage student in a hotel room. The girl was 16 or 17 at the time. The student is now 18 and is still a student at Helix.

Wilcox faces several charges involving sex with a minor. La Mesa police Lt. David Bond said that Wilcox was arrested without incident and admitted the crime to officers. He would not say how the information came to the attention of the authorities other than it was not from the student herself.

Wilcox was booked into county jail on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, contact with a minor with intent to commit sexual offense and entering a building with the intent to commit a felony.
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TT - Wilcox is the third Helix High School teacher to be arrested for having sex with students. The other two were convicted and sentenced. The school district is devising training for staff members. Entry Another teacher has been accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a female student when she was 17 but not yet charged.
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ARRAIGNMENT June 3 - Wilcox posted $70,000 bail and was ordered to return to court on Tuesday for an arraignment where he pleaded not guilty to one count each of having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and attending and arranging an elicit meeting with a minor.

GUILTY PLEA July 24 - Wilcox pleaded guilty to one count of having unlawful sex with a minor. A second charged was dropped in the plea agreement. He will be sentenced Aug. 27.

SENTENCED (sorta) August 27 - He won't be required to register as a sex offender and was was sentenced to one year in jail - not prison - and he will be eligible for a work furlough program if he gets a job. He was also sentenced to probation.

TT - No indication of how long he will be on probation. Wilcox is now the third teacher at the same school convicted for sex with students at the charter school.

WASHINGTON

After pleading no contest in Washington state, charges against him in Alaska for molesting another child were dropped.

Feb 14, 2008 - Alex Mayo, 32, a teacher at Rilke Schule German charter school in Anchorage, was arrested for alleged sexual contact in 1999 with a 9-year-old boy in Snohomish County, Washington.

He moved to Anchorage in 2000 and began teaching there. He was suspended from the Anchorage school after he was indicted in Washington state last month.

After the Anchorage School District began its own internal investigation , they notified police of another possible victim. "As a result of that, one of those individuals talked to his children and found out that his child, he believed, had been molested." In both cases the victims' families were friends of Mayo.

School officials say he has worked at Muldoon Elementary School, North Star Elementary, and the Village Tribal Charter School. Police in Alaska have not filed charges.

Police and school officials asked that anyone who believes Mayo had inappropriate contact with their child call Stanton at 786-2668.

Sgt. Cindi Stanton, head head of the police crimes against children unit, said of the roughly 350 child sex abuse cases investigated by Anchorage police in a year, few of them end up with charges because the cases are often a child's word against an adult's, and often the instances occurred years prior and evidence has been lost.

TT - Which makes providing the police telephone number a little useless, doesn't it?

MSNBC - Mayo was allowed to continue teaching at the German middle school for two months after Anchorage police first contacted the district about the charges in Washington; however, school officials claim they did not know the nature of the charges until Dec. 12.
Trial is scheduled for March 28.

SENTENCED August 28 - Mayo pleaded the equivalent of no contest to a felony count of sexually molesting a child and was sentenced to 51 months in prison. As part of a plea agreement, Mayo's attorney got Alaskan authorities to drop the charges of molesting another boy in Alaska whose family Mayo knew if Mayo pleaded guilty in Washington.

Anchorage police Sgt. Cindi Stanton, supervisor of the crimes against children unit, said the case here concerned several incidents involving one child whose family Mayo knew. She hadn't heard about the deal until Wednesday.

"I wasn't thrilled, and of course, I'm not a district attorney and I don't work on all the dealings," Stanton said. "It's just frustrating because I think the guy should have got more time, but at least he will have this on his record."

TT - The agreement will spare both children from testifying. But there is no mention of sex registration when it is clearly, clearly called for. One article said, "Mayo agreed to stop teaching ." That's an indication that his teaching license was made part of the agreement, an indication that it was a bargaining factor.

Philadelphia, PENNSYLVANIA

Sentenced to 10-20 years for sex with a 14-year-old girl.

Feb 6, 2008 -
Joshua Ulrich, 30, a South Philadelphia High School special education teacher, was arrested Feb 2. He is accused of having sex with a 14-year-old female student. He faces charges of statutory rape.

Authorities began an investigation Jan. 21 after the child's mother reported the sexual relationship to police. Ulrich connected with the girl through MySpace.

GUILTY PLEA May 8 - Ulrich pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, interference with the custody of a child and corrupting the morals of a minor.

Ulrich will receive 10-20 years in state prison under a law establishing a mandatory sentence for adults having oral or anal sex with a child under 16, said James Carpenter, Assistant Chief of the Philadelphia District Attorney Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit.

He will be sentenced Aug 27. (To give the state time to determine the severity of the classification Uhrich will receive under Megan's Law, which governs sex offenders.)

SENTENCED August 27 - Ulrich was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison. Ulrich was immediately taken into custody after the sentencing hearing. He will be required to undergo sexual-offender treatment while in prison.

Santa Ana, CALIFORNIA

August 25, 2008 - Bijon Watson, 40, was sentenced to 90 days in jail - not prison - and five years' probation and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, for molesting a female student.

Watson, director for the jazz program at the Orange County School of the Arts, a middle and high school combination campus in Santa Ana, was convicted May 22 on three counts of annoyance for molesting a student.

In October 2006, when the victim was 16, Watson kissed and fondled her in his office. He later asked her to orally copulate him in his office and sent text messages to her about engaging in sexual conversations. The girl was 16 years old.

Legal Note: (From the Orange County Register -Aug 25)

He was not charged with felonies because the victim was 16 at the time of the offenses, and because the sexual conduct with a girl who was at least 16 was not considered substantial by law.

Full Name: Bijon Savero Watson

Child Pornography Drama

The BBC has a new drama about the families of men caught sharing images of child sex abuse. A researcher for the program speaks about the effect on real families who were the basis of the drama.

August 24, 2008 - "He felt strongly that he wanted his children to have a childhood, yet it didn't occur to him that he was taking away someone else's." is how one woman put it.

Melodrama aside, the researcher made a very valid point.

This is why the language used to discuss the activity is vital, and it's not political correctness that prompts many professionals to shun the term "child pornography".

The people behind Child Exploitation & Online Protection (CEOP), who receive an average of 400 reports a month from the public, and last year investigated almost a million images of child sex abuse, say that calling these pictures "child porn" only helps the abusers. "Pornography", they argue, is legal in most countries, so the word invites ideas of compliance and legitimacy, rather than forced abuse.

Paul Griffiths headed the victim identification team at CEOP on the recent FBI case, trawling through images in an attempt to identify and rescue children. "These images," he says, "are crime-scene photos where children are being subjected to sexual abuse." Jim Gamble, chief executive of CEOP, puts it just as bluntly: "If I were to take a woman to a hotel room, commit rape and take a picture, no one would call that pornography."

Read the whole thing.

Gainesville, VIRGINIA

Sentenced to 15 years for producing child pornography. Followed by 10 years of supervised release. There is no parole in federal sentences.

March 28, 2008 - John B. Shulick, 53, a teacher at Bull Run Middle School, arrested and charged in U.S. District Court with producing child pornography after authorities said they discovered he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

Police said that they discovered videos on Mr. Shulick's computer in which he and the Fairfax girl engaged in sex acts. They also found other images of child pornography on his computer.

Police said Mr. Shulick met the girl on the Internet. She admitted to her parents that she was having sex with Mr. Shulick after the mother's boyfriend saw the girl getting out of a truck driven by an older man.

Police said some of the images depicted minors identified by authorities in other investigations.

Full Name: John Byron Shulick

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fairfax County Police Department's Child Exploitation Unit at 703-246-7827 or the Fairfax County police nonemergency number at 703-691-2131.

No press release at the Fairfax County Police Dept. at this time.

GUILTY PLEA May 28 - Shulick pleaded guilty to federal charges of producing child pornography. According to court documents, Shulick met a 16-year-old Fairfax County girl on the Internet through an adult social networking Web site for people interested in "sexual practices such as bondage, sadistic and masochistic conduct [and] submissive/dominant relationships." He faces a MINIMUM of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 22.

SENTENCED August 23 - Shulick was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for production of child pornography. Followed by 10 years of supervised release. ( There is no parole in federal sentencing.)

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

Whats vague about...?

What the hell is "vague" about a law that requires teachers, like doctors, health care and emergency room personnel, social workers and others to report to police when they suspect child abuse?

August 22, 2008 - Headline: Reporting school child abuse: Vague law may cost principal

Rosamond Elementary School Principal Shelley A. Nordick may have become a pawn in a feud between the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Jordan School District over the district's child abuse reporting policy. Nordick, 46, was recently charged with a class B misdemeanor for allegedly failing to report the actions of Rosamond teacher Frank Laine Hall - who was arrested in March 2007 and later convicted of sexually abusing 11 of his first-grade students. .

But Lt. Rod Norton told The Salt Lake Tribune the Sheriff's Office has no "personal interest" in prosecuting Nordick. He simply wants to know if the district policy, which does not conform with state law, needs fixing.

The state statute flatly requires anyone who suspects child abuse to report it. But while the school district's policy says a school employee who "knows or reasonably suspects" child abuse has occurred must report it to police, it also gives teachers leeway to conduct their own investigations.

"To support the suspicion of abuse and neglect, professional school employees may gather information by interviewing the child," the policy states. Teachers say this caveat allows them to separate actual abuse from numerous false alarms.

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TT - Read the thing, then consider the facts. Two reports were made against the teacher in 2006 and 2007. Elementary School Principal Shelley A. Nordick said in response to the first complaint she observed the class without the teacher's knowledge and interviewed students and concluded she did not need to notify police in 2006.

A year later, two more parents complained and Frank Laine Hall was arrested in March 2007 and later convicted of sexually abusing 11 of his first-grade students. He was sentenced to fifteen years to life. The children were 6 to 7 years old.

Entry for Shelley A. Nordick
Entry for Frank Laine Hall
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NOTE: Even the news article has a box at the bottom that says, "Jordan School District's reporting policy differs from state law; Rosamond Elementary School Principal Shelley A. Nordick is being prosecuted for failing to report child sex abuse by a teacher.

* State law flatly requires anyone who suspects child abuse to report it.

* District policy gives teachers the leeway to conduct their own investigations "to support the suspicion of abuse and neglect . . ."

What is vague about the state law, then? Absolutely nothing. What the problem is is that school district think they are exempt from obeying the law.

This school principal was not a trained investigator, which is why all criminal accusations should be referred to the police. The police know the law, rules of evidence and are impartial.

The real reason schools don't call in police is because schools have a vested interested in avoiding a criminal complaint. For decades what schools across the country did was shift the accused from one school to another or to another school district. The practice was called "Passing the Trash" and the mandatory reporting laws were meant to stop this practice. School districts know they potentially become legally liable when a teacher abuses children. They also face bad publicity and parental anger.

Parents should be angry. And they should insist that their school district has a policy that encourages teachers to follow the law. We're talking about children!

This isn't a "feud." It is an attempt by police to pressure the district to conform to state law. That's the job of the police - to uphold the law. No one should be immune even with the backing of newspapers.

Pittsburgh, PENNSYLVANIA

"1 thick daddy" is under arrest.

August 23, 2008 - Nicholas Salvo, 34, a Mt. Lebanon High School chemistry teacher, was arrested and charged with two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, one count of attempted unlawful contact with a minor and two counts of criminal use of a computer.

The prosecutor's office said that Salvo. sent sexually explicit messages and videos to an undercover agent whom he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
Full Name: Nicholas E. Salvo
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Pennsylvania Attorney General Press Release (dated August 22, 2008)

Corbett said that Salvo, using the screen name "1 thick daddy," allegedly used a teen chat room to contact an undercover agent from the Child Predator Unit who was using the online profile of a 14-year old girl. Within minutes of that initial contact, on July 3rd, Salvo allegedly sent a private message to the girl, asking what her measurements were and telling her, "I like younger girls."

According to the criminal complaint, Salvo told the girl that he was watching online pornography and then sent her a webcam video that showed his exposed penis. During other chats that followed, Salvo made reference to the nude video, asking the girl, "did you enjoy the other night," and telling her, "you got to see a big one, too." Salvo also allegedly sent additional webcam video showing him masturbating in front of his computer.

HEARING WAIVED October 30, 2008 - Salvo waived a hearing Oct. 21 on charges of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a computer.

Grove City, PENNSYLVANIA

Time to update those yearbooks.
Suspended in 2003 in Grove City.

August 22, 2008 - Daniel Konnen, 29, a former music and band teacher who was suspended in 2003 for a web site he created as a college student, was arrested August 8 in Elizaville, NY, where he was head camp counselor at Camp Eagle Hill. After his arrest, Konnan resigned from Westminster College.

He is accused of secretly taping a 15-year-old boy after encouraging the camper to masturbate in his room. The camp director asked police to investigate Konnen who was interviewed Aug. 8 and arrested. Charges include promoting the sexual performance of a child, possessing a sexual performance by a child under 16 and endangering the welfare of a child.

Suspended in 2003 from his teaching job in Grove City, he resigned in February 2004.

Konnen was a Grove City music teacher and assistant band director when school officials discovered a Web site he had created as a Grove City College student.

The Web site contained pictures of Konnen and friends at a Hickory High School band camp, a list of favorite songs, a scene from “South Park” and off-color jokes. Grove City School Board suspended Konnen in March 2003 for “immorality, incompetence, intemperance and persistent negligence.”

In New York, a second camp counselor was arrested during the investigation when investigators discovered he had had provided a Playboy magazine to a 13-year-old boy who was also at the camp. Twenty-six year old Jesse Garcia of West Harrison, NY, was arrested for endangering the welfare of a child.

Konnen lives in Hermitage, PA. The camp is about 95 miles north of New York City.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: The Standards and Practices Commission at the Pennsylvania Department of Education maintains and online list of Teaching Certificate Actions taken dating back to 2004 against teaching certificates. Also, see their FAQ
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TT - No actions found for Konnen.

April 23, 2003 - School board: Teacher's personal web site is grounds for dismissal
The state's teachers union has vowed to defend his right to free expression on the web, arguing that the site has nothing to do with his in-school behavior. The teachers union plans to file a grievance on Konnen's behalf, Park said, adding, "It may come down to a First Amendment issue."

Vernon, ALABAMA

Fraudulent student loans in another teacher's name.

August 23, 2008 - Ginger Collins, 57, a sixth grade teacher at a Vernon intermediate school, was placed on paid leave after her arrest on Monday for six counts of possession of a forged instrument. The charges are in connection with forgery and identity theft involving more than $100,000 in fraudulent student loans.

Collins allegedly used the identity of a fellow teacher to take out the loans.
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The school may be Lamar County High-Intermediate School.
Google map

Scarey

Second Magnolia Junior High School teacher arrested in four months.

Arrested this week in Magnolia, Arkansas, Alison Dean, (left) 30, was arrested, accused of giving drugs to and having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Entry

The affidavit said the teenager said Dean would pick him up near his home and they would go to the Genestet water well on County Road 76, near Waldo. He said that Dean performed oral sex on him five times and that he and Dean had sexual intercourse on three occasions.

Donna Sanders, 46, (right) a special education teacher at the school was arrested April 23, charged with two counts of accomplice to rape, four counts of third-degree sexual assault, and six counts of permitting abuse of a minor.

It is alleged that Sanders rented motel rooms for a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old girl to have sex with two underage boys and a 22-year-old man they met on line through Facebook. . Police say she rented motel rooms in El Dorado for the girls, left them overnight, and returned the next day and picked them up. She also provided alcoholic beverages to the juveniles. The incidents happened over seven months. Entry

Murrieta, CALIFORNIA

Guilty plea to 10 felonies of oral copulation of a minor.
Plea agreement calls for 120 jails in local jail.

May 2, 2008 - Crissy Hisey, 28, a 10th grade English teacher at Vista Murrieta High, was arrested and booked into the Southwest Detention Center on suspicion of oral copulation by force and sending harmful matter to seduce a minor.

She is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl she first met in her classroom. Police were given a cell phone that contained photos and messages that led them to suspect that inappropriate and unlawful behavior was taking place between Hisey and her former student.

The school district says there was never any reason to suspect a relationship. But the mother of a senior at Vista High said when school officials announced the arrest, students were not surprised because the teacher and the girl, who was described as “withdrawn,” had been spending a lot of time together.

Hisey resigned from her teaching position.
Full Name: Crissy Torcella Hisey
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UPDATE (June 24, 2008) - A Felony Settlement Conference is scheduled for 08/01/2008
Case SWF025505 Defendant 1685238 NOORIS, CRISSY T
Arrest charge was 1 count of Oral Cop/Under 18 years.
Filled charges are 10 counts of Oral Cop/Under 18 years and 1 count of Distribution/Exhibition of lewd Material to Minor
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GUILTY PLEA August 22 - Hisey pleaded guilty Friday to 10 felonies stemming from a sexual relationship she had with an underage girl. She pleaded to 10 counts of oral copulation with a minor and prosecutors dismissed one count of sending harmful material to a child. (That charge came from the pictures and videos found on the cell phones of both Hisey and the girl.)

According to court records, under the plea agreement, she faces up to 120 days in county jail - not prison - and her case will be reviewed by a probation officer before she is sentenced.

Grandville, MICHIGAN

When a middle school teacher was arrested and sentenced for masturbating in a gym at Grand Valley State University, parents were somewhat concerned. However, a newspaper blogger at Michigan Live came to the teacher's defense.

August 22, 2008 - (Mind you, the writer is not being facetious.) He wrote,

Dennis James Graveldinger, 48, of Alto, a popular Grandville Middle School science teacher, was in the GVSU locker room after a workout and decided to take a shower. During that shower, Graveldinger found himself in a state of arousal. He returned to his locker and did what any normal person would do.

He began masturbating.

And,

Now, while Graveldinger may not have done anything technically wrong other than not wait for the person standing next to him to leave before auto-eroticizing, other people see the situation a bit differently.

Parents of the children who go to the school Graveldinger teaches at have become concerned that somehow this act impairs his teaching ability or that he might be a pedophile, even though there were no objects to his arousal and that no minors should be in the GVSU locker room.

He worries that the career of an otherwise good teacher could be at risk for one incident that has become blown out of proportion. And asks,

What do you think? Should he be fired, discipled or given a second chance?
Have you cast the same stone yourself?
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TT - Apparently you can't cast a stone in the writer's view because he thinks the teacher did "what any normal person" does, which is masturbate in a public place. The public place was the Grand Valley State University gym where a university student was present. In fact, next to him.

The writer asks, "Everything should be alright, right?" (Presumably an editor did not review the article because "all right" is always two words unless it's bad dialogue. Just as "all wrong" is two words. That's a mnemonic. Autoerotic is not hyphenated, by the way.) The newspaper blogger was referring to the reaction of parents to the arrest who objected to Graveldinger's continued presence in the classroom. In a middle school. With impressionable seventh graders.

Undoubtedly, the offense doesn't fall under those that mean automatic dismissal. And, thankfully, the teacher did not perform "autoeroticism" in the middle school, but amazingly, other districts and other writers might find such behavior unacceptable. Other districts might think that this teacher fails as a role model. And more earthy types might wonder why a teacher became so unaccountably aroused in the shower of a male locker room that it required instant, ah, intervention, so to speak.

We're not willing to take a poll on the subject, but we're probably safe in saying that most guys would probably prefer to "autoeroticize" in the shower rather than expose themselves (literally) and demonstrate publicly their lack of self-control to a perfect stranger. Frankly, we think parents who think the behavior sounds like a serious impulse control problem and that the inability to delay gratification should, at a minimum, call for psychological testing, aren't off the wall.

Luckily, Central Michigan University has a self-test online, Delaying Gratification Inventory in a Happiness Survey. Taking the 10-15 minute survey allows you to enter into a drawing for $100. You must be at least 18 years to participate in the survey.

Disturbingly, seventh graders have posted to the entry, one even providing her name.

As said befor mybe the student was to observent. I beleive this situation was stretched as far as it can go. He is a very popular teacher. And isnt the locker room ment for changing?

We deleted the comment because of the self-identification. But, the very fact that seventh graders are discussing the merits of the case, rests ours.

Cumberland, MARYLAND

Middle school teacher arrested for murder. How do you explain that to middle schoolers?

August 21, 2008 - Cory Yantz, 38, has been charged with first degree murder after his wife was found dead in the kitchen of their Fayette Street apartment. Yantz is a teacher at Washington Middle School.

Yantz is alleged to have stabbed Tonya Jean Yantz, 34, according to C3I. Cumberland Police responded to the home at 3:12 p.m. for a report of a woman who had been stabbed and found Tonya Yantz dead in the kitchen.
Full Name: Cory Francis Yantz
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C3I = Combined County Criminal Investigation Unit, a cooperative unit between several Allegany County law enforcement agencies. Second story of the day involving C3I. Mountain Leathers, 24, a teacher at Mountain Ridge High School was arrested in Frostburg. TT entry.

Cumberland and Frostburg are a little over 11 miles apart.

Santa Cruz, CALIFORNIA

August 21, 2008 - Forest Miles, 24, a teacher at Empire Academy, was arrested and charged with unlawful intercourse with a minor, lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, sexual penetration with a foreign object and annoying or molesting a child. He is accused of having sexual relations with at least two girls.

The investigation began in late July when the father of the 17-year-old girl reported his daughter was having a sexual relationship with a former teacher.

Investigators contacted school administrators where they found that Mr. Miles had possibly been involved in inappropriate behavior with another 16-year-old student while teaching at the school. The other girl was 14 when that relationship began.
Full Name: Forest Cascade Miles

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Section at 831-420-5820.
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Empire Academy is a private school in Santa Cruz that serves grades 6-12. No online story says why he was a "former" teacher or how administrators knew of the inappropriate behavior. Or if the two are connected.
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NOT GUILTY PLEA August 23 - Miles pleaded not guilty to the charges. From the article: He was let go at the end of the last school year, according to Principal Sinda Merritt. Merritt said Miles was not terminated in connection with the alleged sex crimes and said school officials were unaware of the allegations until contacted by police this summer.

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.

Magnolia, ARKANSAS

August 21, 2008 - Allison Dean, 30, a Magnolia School District teacher who resigned last Wednesday, was arrested, accused of giving drugs to a male student and having sex with him, over eight months. The boy is 15.

Dean faces eight counts of sexual assault, with each count punishable from six to thirty years in prison.
Columbia County
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Poll at the news story asks, What do you think is the most pressing issue facing schools? Your choices: Teacher shortage, Test scores, Drop-out rates.
Headline is: Teacher Turns Herself in for Affair with Student
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August 23 - (From Arkansas Democrat Gazette) Dean resigned her teaching position with the Magnolia School District on Aug. 15.

The probable-cause affidavit filed by the sheriff’s office Thursday afternoon said that on Aug. 12, the boy’s mother became suspicious of her son’s cell-phone use and confiscated the phone. While she had the phone, the mother saw a text message and answered a call. When the mother asked for the caller’s identity, the caller hung up. The mother also found several text messages related to drug use when she reviewed messages on the phone.

Dean is the second Magnolia Junior High School teacher arrested on sex-related charges in less than four months. Donna Lou Sanders, 46, was arrested April 23. Entry