Buckeye, ARIZONA

What can you say?

October 31, 2008 - Vincent Petti, 26, a Verrado High School football coach, was arrested for allegedly showed an indecent photograph to three female students on school grounds.

He was booked into the Maricopa County Jail Wednesday on three felony counts of furnishing harmful materials to a minor. Petti has been employed with the district since August.

Petti has been suspended from school pending an investigation.

Flagstaff, ARIZONA

A registered sex offender for life.

October 30, 2008 - Tawni Wimberley, 30, a Flagstaff High School and technology teacher, was sentenced to six months - suspended. She will be on supervised probation for three years. She will have to REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER for the rest of her life.

In September, Wimberley pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. She was on a leave of absence when she had improper relationships with 16-year-old and 17-year-old boys in 2007. Police alleged that Wimberley had consensual sexual relationships with ``several'' male students, most of them legal adults.
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This AP story says nothing about sex offender registration.

Chandler, ARIZONA

October 24, 2008 - Arrested on child molestation charges, D. Ryan Jones, 35, is accused of molesting a 10-year-old girl at his Tempe home last summer. He admitted to touching the girl's genitals on two separate occasions on June 6 and 7, according to police reports.

Jones taught 8th grade social studies at Andersen Junior High. He had been teaching at the school for 10 weeks and passed all background checks, according to a school spokesman. A substitute teacher has been hired.

The girl was not a student at the school. She is described as a "close relative" from out of state. The girl’s mother reported the abuse to the Palm Bay Police Department in Florida, the court report said.
----------------
Arresting Agency: Tempe Police Department
County: Maricopa
Location is of the school where he taught. Not where the alleged molestation occurred.

Yuma, ARIZONA

Elementary school teacher arrested for child pornography.

October 22, 2008 - Clyde Imhoff, III 49, was arrested and charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Someone tipped police off that 49-year-old Clyde Imhoff kept pornographic pictures of children on his home computer.

Police obtained a search warrant and siezed his computer and other evidence. Police say the Mohawk Valley Elementary School teacher will likely face other charges. He teaches special education and structured English immersion teacher. He was hired in August. Imhoff has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the charges

The Yuma Police Department encourages anybody with any information about this case to call Detective Miguel Sanchez at 928-373-4670 or 78-Crime to remain anonymous.
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TT - The penalty for child pornography in Arizona is 10 years for a single picture. He'd better hope that Yuma authorities turn the case over to the Feds.

Yuma Police Department Press Release (dated October 22, 2008.)

Legal - ARIZONA

NEW LAWS in Arizona

September 27, 2008 - Several hundred new laws will go into effect Saturday in Arizona. Among them, a law that require any school employee who is arrested to immediately notify his or her employer.

Another law mandates that some employees of private firms that go to public schools be fingerprinted.

Eloy, ARIZONA

September 25, 2008 - Bradley Key, 28, described as a "popular physical education teacher at the Toltec Middle School," was arrested on allegations of three counts of sexual conduct with a 17-year-old Eloy girl starting in June of this year, and sending obscene items, including videos of himself, to the teenager via the internet.

Key has been in the district for four years, having transferred to the middle school form Toltec Elementary three years ago. He had even been selected as teacher of the month in August.

A search warrant was issued on Thursday, Sept. 11 for Key's and his wife's home on Sunshine Boulevard, which was investigated by local police forces.
Full Name: Bradley Jason Key

Mesa, ARIZONA

NOT GUILTY VERDICT

ARRESTED May 25, 2007 - Kyle Hite, 25, a teacher's aide at Westwood High School, was arrested, accused of sexual abuse.

The 16-year old victim told police that Hite started brushing his hand against her breast during class. She says the abuse started in February, continuing until last week. When she told him to stop after the second time, she says, he told her to "cut the attitude". She complained to the assistant principal.

According to police, Hite admitted to touching the girl inappropriately during class. He allegedly told police he continued to do it because he thought the teenager found him attractive.

His contract expired with the end of the school year Thursday.

May 30 - Mesa school officials say they made a mistake in hiring Hite in an e-mail sent to the Arizona Republic.

According to the district, Hite had no record of criminal activity in Arizona. However, he did have "previous police involvement" outside of Arizona but no criminal convictions, district spokeswoman Kathy Bareiss said in an email.

They overlooked information that would have raised concerns about the applicant in the second report.

INDICTED June 5 - Hite was indicted Monday by a Maricopa County grand jury on three counts of sexual abuse. He is scheduled for his arraignment June 13.

Dec 16 - A hearing is scheduled for Dec 17. (Source: East Valley Tribune database)

NOT GUILTY VERDICT August 27 - A jury found Hite NOT GUILTY of three counts of sexual abuse. The allegations prompted the Mesa Unified School District to revise its criminal background checks because an internal investigation found Hite had had “prior police involvement” from another state that had gone unnoticed when he was hired.

Scottsdale, ARIZONA

Court to hear appeal of dismissal of charges.

August 16, 2008 - The Arizona Court of Appeals has agreed to hear arguments over a Maricopa County Superior Court judge’s decision to dismiss a sexual misconduct case against former Scottsdale Saguaro High School assistant football coach Tom Porras.

After Judge Helene Abrams ruled to dismiss a sexual misconduct case against Porras, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office filed an appeal, and the appellate court is reviewing the case. It will begin hearing arguments Sept. 11.
--------------------
TT - Entry for Porras. Actually, the judge dismissed after she threw out his confession.

At a guess, the arguments will be heard in Division Two, but it doesn't show on the calendar at this time. Under a new law passed in 2007, a crime victim can ask the Court of Appeals to send him/her a copy of the court’s decision on the defendant’s appeal at the same time that copies are sent to the prosecutor and the defendant.

Mesa, ARIZONA

This is a lawsuit we are not going to follow.

August 1, 2008 - Fractured skull caps wild trip

In an e-mail sent to parents June 11, 2007, Michael Forhan, Passports' director of corporate development, blamed DiMaggio for failing to control the group.

"In my 38 years in the travel industry, I have never encountered a student group that has exhibited such clear contempt for common rules of behavior," Forhan wrote.

Before the group of Dobson High School students left U.S. airspace on a flight last summer to London, the pilot threatened to land the plane in Newfoundland and throw them off if they kept drinking whiskey and vodka purchased during a layover in Cincinnati.

Gilbert, ARIZONA

We had to start a new category for band teachers a while back.

Jan 10, 2007 - Jeremy Calvert, 20, assistant band teacher at Higley High School, was arrested on charges he molested a female student. A preliminary is scheduled for Jan 19. A Gilbert police spokesman said, "This is not a teacher-student romance." Police believe there may be other victims.

TT - An odd note from KOLD news. "Calvert was an employee of the Higley Unified School District from August 2005 until December. After departing, he asked to return as a volunteer."

NEVER FINGERPRINTED Jan 11 - ABC15 reports: A spokeswoman for the Gilbert Unified School District says Calvert was never fingerprinted for a background check. (TT - turns out that 53 employees who should have been fingerprinted, weren't. Entry)

FINGERPRINT POLICY Jan 11 - The Arizona Republic reports: A district policy allows staff to work without fingerprints on file as long as they are supervised when with students. The school has launched an audit of all Higley High staff fingerprint cards. (TT-but he previously worked for the school.)

The school will begin student workshops this week to remind students of their rights and expectations for teacher and staff conduct. An emergency staff meeting was called to remind teachers of proper conduct.

SECOND INCIDENT Disturbingly, the newspaper recalls, that this is the second incident in four years involving sexual contact between a staffer and a student at Higley High. In June 2003, Higley High choir teacher Benjamin LeMere, 27, was sentenced to jail for three months, put on lifetime probation and required to register as a sex offender. LeMere had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old student and a DNA test revealed that he was the father of the girl's child.

Police are investigating information that Calvert may have assaulted other students

STUDENT COMPLAINT Jan 11 - A sidebar here includes comments from girl who knew a band student who complained to the vice-principal about e-mails and text messaging and was told because she didn't have proof they wouldn't do anything. "I think now that this has happened they have no choice, but I think it could have been prevented if they'd looked into it earlier."
Full name: Jeremy Ross Calvert

Feb 14 - A student alleges that the band director ignored warnings last year about a band assistant accused of sexually assaulting a girl on campus. The girl who accused him of rape said there was “no consequence” for the text messages because the band director believed his assistant over the students.

The band director later told his principal that he was never told about the text messages, the police report shows. However, Calvert told police that band director was notified of the text messages. But Calvert said the messages were simply an effort to make friends with the students.

TRIAL SCHEULED Apr 10 - Calvert's trial is set for June 4 in the Superior Court of Arizona.

Dec 16 - Calvert's trial is scheduled to begin Jan 14, 2008. (Source: Database from the East Valley Tribune)

GUILTY PLEA June 25, 2008 - Calvert reached a plea agreement a month ago to plead guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor, dropping seven counts of the same charge. He will be sentenced June 26.

The case was initially treated as a rape; however, court records show further investigation revealed the sex was likely consensual. A grand jury then charged Calvert with nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor. The case fueled a political battle that has divided the school board and Higley Unified School District administration to this day.

SENTENCED June 27 - Calvert was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday. Calvert also will be placed on lifetime probation and have to register as a sex offender.

The judge admonished Calvert. After Calvert finished his statement, the judge said: "Throughout the proceedings, you have tended to minimize your involvement in this" and issued the tough sentence.

Judge David Udall noted that Calvert had misused his position as a trusted teacher's aide and the incident occurred on school grounds - violating the professional trust and responsibilities of such a position.

Two district employees resigned in light of the incident. [No explanation.]

Scottsdale, ARIZONA

Delayed Justice: Guilty plea to sexual conduct in the 1980s. Finalist for National Teacher of the Year on probation for life.

Sept. 1, 2007 - Paul M. Knutson, 58, a Rogers High School (Rogers, ARKANSAS) science teacher, was arrested on five felony charges, including sexual contact with a minor, furnishing obscene or harmful items to minors, possession and sale of dangerous drugs, possession and sale of marijuana and possession and sale of narcotics.

The charges date back to between 1983 and 1985 in Scottsdale, Arizona when he taught at Chaparral High School. He worked in the Scottsdale Unified School District between 1973 ad 1984.

INDICTED Sept. 4 - Knutson was indicted on felony counts of sexual assault, sexual conduct with a minor and furnishing harmful materials to a minor.

Sept. 5 - Knutson’s ex-wife in Arizona told police that someone told her about the relationship and she confronted Knutson. He admitted it. From documents released by the police, another man also knew of the relationship.

Knutson is scheduled for a hearing Oct 17 to determine whether Scottsdale police have the proper paperwork for his extradition to Arizona.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE Sept 19 - The school board granted Knutson a leave of absence.

A leave of absence is more often granted for medical reasons or for a return to school, assistant superintendent Jane Webb explained after the board meeting. Knutson won’t be paid while he’s on leave, but he could be allowed to return to work if he can resolve the legal issues, she said. No ending date was set for the leave of absence.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Nov 9 - Knutson entered a not guilty plea. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec 13.

INDICTED Nov 13 - The prosecutor's office formally announced the indictment of Paul Knutson. The Grand Jury handed down 13 felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor and drug-related charges.

The woman told police she decided to come forward after nearly 25 years because she is a drug addict and in counseling for her substance abuse problem. She claims that Knutson taught her how to free base cocaine, according to a police report.

Knutson’s wife left him during the alleged incidents because he told her he was in love with the girl and wasn’t going to leave her, according to the report.

At least six cases in which employees of East Valley schools face sexual-related charges involving minors are moving through Maricopa County Superior Court. [They only mention two in the article.]

Dec 16 - Knutson is scheduled to appear at a hearing on Dec. 17. (Source: East Valley Tribune database.)

GUILTY PLEA May 9, 2008 - Knutson pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual conduct with a minor for a sexual relationship he had with a female former student in the early 1980s. He will be sentenced June 20.
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SENTENCED (Sorta) June 20 - Knutson was sentenced to two months in jail - not prison - and probation for the rest of his life. [Article doesn't say if it is supervised probation or unsupervised probation].

Judge Paul McMurdie of Maricopa County Superior Court said Friday he would have sent Paul M. Knutson to prison for up to three years if the offense had happened now, but he gave the teacher credit for living an exemplary life since the crimes happened.

Knutson taught at Chaparral from 1973 to 1984 and had sex with the student who was 16 and 17 from Jan. 1 1984 through April 22, 1985.

REMINDER
Ex-wife, Teachers, Principal Said To Have Known Of Relationship In 1980s (Sep 5, 2007)
A friend of Knutson's said that Knutson constantly spoke about the relationship, the police report stated. The man told police Knutson described the first time he had sex with the girl, in a storeroom attached to Knutson’s classroom.

The man also told police he and Knutson smoked marijuana together and the man believed Knutson provided marijuana to the girl.
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TT - Exemplary record or not, the man deserved prison time and lovercase judge™ Paul McMurdie was wrong to give him a discounted sentence because Knutson was a teacher. At the time of the illegal sex, she was 16 years old and Knutson was 34, twice her age. What does an "exemplary life" have to do with anything? What does it have to do with justice for the victim? It's like sentence reductions for "first time offenders" where the first-time victim has the misfortune to count for less.

(The term "lowercase judge" isn't trademarked, but it does mark those judges who don't deserve honorific capitalization of their titles for their idiotic decisions.)
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CERTIFICATE(S) REVOKED August 25, 2008 - The Arizona State Board of Education voted to revoke the teaching certificates of Paul Milton Knutson. (pg 3)

Phoenix, ARIZONA

Chancellor Rufus Glasper criticized Todd for not providing hospital personnel with Ziegler's identification. She was an unidentified body in the morgue.

June 8, 2008 - When 19-year-old Andrea Ziegler died after she was found comatose on the floor of her professor's home, her parents hired a private detective. The investigator said that

four former PVCC students accuse [a Paradise Valley Community College professor] of having sexual relations with them. Only one of them formally documented it with police and the college.

A letter from the school reveals that they made PVCC professor, Michael Todd take an on-line sexual harassment course in 2002. Todd was also warned to keep students out of his home, but that's exactly where Andria Ziegler was found passed out in April.

June 10 - The District fired Todd.

A community college professor has been fired after one of his students died at the professor's home of an accidental cocaine overdose.

Michael Todd, 51, who taught at Paradise Valley Community College for eight years, was never a suspect in Andria Ziegler's death.

But the governing board of the Maricopa County Community College District voted Tuesday to fire him anyway. The district said Todd violated professional standards and the college's sexual harassment policy that prohibits "amorous relationships" with students.

East Valley Tribune (June 10) - The board voted unanimously (5-0) to fire Michael Todd.

MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper criticized Todd for not providing hospital personnel with Ziegler's identification.

Instead, when hospital personnel in the emergency room told Todd and his neighbor that Ziegler had died, Todd said "I gotta get out of here" and went to his attorney's office, according to a police report.

Glasper also criticized Todd for not informing his supervisors of the incident.

Ziegler’s parents had notified authorities about 4:17 p.m. on Monday to report her missing, and started circulating fliers with her picture on them.

Phoenix police then got involved after they became aware of an unidentified woman’s body at the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office and connected them.

Todd was a psychology professor. Ziegler was most recently in his abnormal psychology class.

Queen Creek, ARIZONA

Parents are upset over the yearbook.

May 23, 2008 - They presented their concerns to the Queen Creek Unified School District school board, saying they want more control over the yearbook's contents next year. Pictures of student tattoos and piercings, a portrait of a lesbian couple and photos suggesting underage drinking were all considered appropriate by the Yearbook adviser Robert Boop.

Yearbooks are created for a reason," said Boop, who has taught the yearbook class for three years. "It's not meant to satisfy everyone. Yearbook is supposed to be history as (students) see it."

Besides the tattoos and piercings pages in the 224-page book, some parents were also concerned about a picture of two students holding red plastic drinking cups. The students were named "Best partiers."

Another photo of concern is a lesbian couple posing on a couples page. Only one parent spoke in favor of the yearbook. His two daughters were on the yearbook staff.

He said the district cannot set certain boundaries.

"I understand the concerns, but as a public school, you cannot draw the lines to what is acceptable," Florance said. "Tattoos and piercings is life. As much as we don't agree with it, it's their right," he told the board.

Oddly, the two girls don't have tattoos or body piercings.

TT - Few yearbooks can rival the Conifer, Colorado yearbook that celebrated drugs, sex and drug citations.

NEW LEGISLATION

Signed into law.

May 23, 2008 - The governor signed a new law in Arizona that requires educators to immediately notify schools when they are arrested or when charges are pending. Failure to do so calls for immediate termination and exclusion from future employment as a teacher.

In addition, the bill that was passed unanimously in both the house and the senate requires that the Department of Public Safety to inform school districts directly whenever an educator is arrested or charged.

In the past the Department of Public Safety notified the Department of Education that was supposed to notify the school district.

The law is the result of the arrest of Angela Csader, a 25-year-old elementary school teacher who had a baby with a 16-year-old student. Police learned of the situation more than a year before Csader resigned, but since the boy and his parents did not want to prosecute, prosecution was delayed. Even after her arrest, she remained in the classroom for six more months. TT entry for Csader.

Outlandish

A sure-fire psychological stupidity defense that most teachers with boundary issues can claim.

A defense psychologist said the teacher has the maturity of a "mid-teen" girl. The forensic psychologist said the teacher had "a desperate need for reassurance and attention" that she satisfied by being "one of the girls" at the high school. "Her classroom was a popular hangout," the psychologist said.

Because of her psychological issues, the psychologist said, "she was ill-equipped to manage the demands of her chosen profession."

Excuse us. The demands of her profession did not call for having sex with a 16-year-old male student and then counsel him to keep quiet about the sex. It only demanded a recognition of right and wrong. “You’re 16 years old. I could go to (expletive) jail," is what the teacher told the student in a telephone call the police taped.

Doesn't say much for the cheerleaders in the courtroom for the sentencing who wore t-shirts reading "Team Mally," and one wore a shirt saying, "I make Mally proud." Bubble gum soulmates. We don't think, however, registered sex offenders can associate with underage children. Too bad, girls.

Phoenix, ARIZONA

“The victim is not a lucky guy,” the prosecutor said. “He was manipulated by a teacher he should have been able to trust.”

“You’re 16 years old. I could go to (expletive) jail,” Mally said in a police-recorded telephone call to the 16-year-old student. Actually, she's going to prison.

May 2, 2007 - Jennifer Mally, 26, an English teacher and cheerleading coach at Paradise Valley High School, was arrested on 29 counts of sexual conduct with a minor.

The parents of a 16-year-old male student contacted the school and school officials then called police. Police were told that it had been an ongoing situation that began in October.

TT - Not only do these teachers betray the trust of their students, they pit the students against parents, and count on the students taking their side.It's the silence those sexually exploiting children count on.

May 4 - During a worried and confrontational telephone call with a 16-year-old boy, Paradise Valley High School English teacher Jennifer Mally expressed concern she might be arrested and asked him to promise not to reveal the nature of their relationship to anyone, court documents revealed Thursday. Police recorded the phone call.

PREVIOUS LETTER OF REPRIMAND May 8 - A letter of reprimand was placed in Mally's file last year, said Judi Willis, public relations officer for the Paradise Valley Unified School District, where the high school is located."It was about inappropriate communications," said Willis, who added that the communications were not of a sexual nature.

Violating district policy, Mally was reprimanded for sending text messages to a student regarding a homework assignment and phoning the same student regarding attendance at a dance recital. Willis said the district restricts the ways a teacher may communicate with a student to prevent inappropriate conversations. Teachers must notify parents in writing of the types of communication they expect to share with students, and the form of communication.

Mally is due in court on Friday.

INDICTED May 11 - Mally was indicted, charged with 17 counts of sexual conduct with a minor. Between October 2006 and April 2007, Mally allegedly persistently engaged in a relationship with a male student at her home, the victim's home and in her car. Mally will be arraigned on May 21.

NEW LAWYER May 19 - Mally has a new attorney who was a former U.S. Attorney for Arizona in the Reagan administration. TT - Google search reveals he was also a judge.

NOT GUILTY PLEA May 22 - Mally pleaded not guilty. Her next court date will be July 12.

[TT - Fashion conscious reporter revealed his acute sensitivity.

Tall, thin and blue-eyed, Mally was dressed in black slacks and a black, short-sleeved blouse decorated with red and white lipsticks. She wore a watch on her left wrist, a wedding ring, two other rings on her right hand, and a bracelet.

What? No earrings??!!!

SECOND STUDENT May 29 - The Arizona Republic got a copy of the police report and is reporting that a second student alleges he had sex with Mally. The second student was 18, above the age of consent. Other details emerged.

Police were notified by the assistant principal. Detectives interviewed the teenager and took him downtown for more questioning. Investigating Detective Duane Armitage decided to have the 16-year-old call her in what he calls a "confrontation call," which was taped. The boy told Mally that he was worried about questions the school was asking him about her. She attempted to persuade him to lie about the situation.

TRIAL SCHEDULED July 16 - Mally's trial is scheduled for Oct. 16. Mally earlier had been suspended by the high school because of rumors circulating about her sexual activities with students. AZ Central reports that she had been reprimanded previously for text-messaging students, which violates policy of the Paradise Valley Unified School District.

TRIAL DELAYED Oct 5 - The trial has been rescheduled to April. The delay was caused by an overloaded prosecution schedule.

MOVING TO TRIAL Nov 9 - Malley and her legal team attended a settlement conference. Mally's attorney told 12 News that the defense is moving forward with her trial. The former English teacher is charged with 17 counts of sexual conduct with a minor. At the time, she was 25 years old. The student was 15 years old.

CHEERLEADER MAY TESTIFY Nov 30 - A cheerleader who may be a possible witness says she doesn't know if Mally and the boy had sex. But she says the teenager should also face criminal charges for threatening and harassing Mally.

RELEASE CONDITIONS MODIFIED Dec 3 - A judge modified the release conditions for Mally. One of the new conditions will allow Mally go to a shopping mall, movie theater or other entertainment location where youths may be present, as long as she is accompanied by a responsible adult.

It prompted a reader response at the news site: "So would someone please do me a favor and remind us exactly what a "Responsible Adult" is? Oh wait. It's probably not going to be a teacher that sleeps with her students! Sheesh. Why is she not in jail?"

TRIAL SCHEDULED Dec 16 - Mally's trial is scheduled for April, 2008. (Source: East Valley Tribune database)

GUILTY PLEA March 14, 2008 - Mally pleaded guilty to three felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor. She will have to register as a sex offender She appeared in court with her husband. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9.

Her attorney said she changed her plea because "she needs to go on with her life." Mally surrendered her teaching certificate in February. [ TT -See Smiling picture of her at the story.]

PLEA AGREEMENT DETAILS March 25 - The Arizona Republic states that part of the plea agreement is that Mally gave up her teaching certificate permanently. She will have to register as a sex offender. She also is required to pay $1,650 restitution for the victim's counseling costs and could be ordered to pay fines up to $150,000 per count. [TT - that's something we would dearly love to see.]

SENTENCED May 9 - Mally was sentenced to six months in prison (for each count, to run concurrently) in "acourtroom packed with media and about two dozen students, three of whom spoke in favor of the former cheer coach." Her husband also testified on her behalf.

Her husband, Andrew Mally, spoke in support of his wife, saying he’s been punished himself. He described his wife as the most selfless person he has ever known.

“Knowing your wife has been arrested for having sex with a minor is a hard pill to swallow,” he said. “And comforting someone who has just broken your heart is tough.”

Mally apologized - to her supporters. "I’m very, very sorry. I hurt all of these people in this room.” Neither the victim nor his family attended.
Mally will be a registered sex offender.
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CERTIFICATE(S) REVOKED August 25, 2008 - The Arizona State Board of Education voted to revoke the teaching certificates of Jennifer Mally. (pg 3)

Anthem, ARIZONA

The school district did not know about her arrest until six months later. She had a baby with the 16-year-old student.

The lowercase judge - one undeserving of the honorific capitalization of a title - sentenced her to three months in jail - not prison.

Feb 15, 2008 - It took six months for the school district to know about her arrest.

A Florence Unified School District kindergarten teacher remained on the job for six months after she was arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 16-year-old, resigning only after the state notified the district, officials said.

Angela Csader, 25, a Anthem Elementary School kindergarten teacher was arrested in July on charges she had sex with a Gilbert boy who fathered her child.

The state Department of Education has an investigation section that deals with teachers facing criminal charges. But under state law, school districts are responsible for notifying the department, which then revokes the teacher's certification. Police did not notify the school because they were unaware that she was a teacher. She was hired by a Gilbert couple to help teach their 8-year-old in their home. That's where she met the 16-year-old boy who fathered her child.

District spokesman Larry Cline said the school found out on Jan. 30 that Csader's fingerprint card was revoked. This is the same school district that when they found out, sent a notice home to parents about her resignation but refused to name her because "the alleged sexual acts didn't involve Anthem students."

Csader, who is married, faces a family court dispute with the victim, who filed for full custody of their daughter in December.

Csader resigned the day after the district learned of her arrest. Her next court date is set for Feb. 26.
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TT - If a teacher is arrested out of state or the county, police in that jurisdiction would be no more likely to know the teacher's occupation and wouldn't know to notify the school district either.

That's why most districts require teachers and staff to notify them when they are arrested. f]Failure to do so is grounds for instant dismissal. How hard is that?
-------------------------
Feb 20 - Lengthy explanation of why she continued to teach while police were investigating her.

GUILTY March 28 - Csader pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual conduct with a minor. She will be sentenced on April 28.

Police learned of the situation more than a year before her resignation. The case was delayed a year because the boy and his mother did not want to testify. Her case sparked a new law.

The House of Representatives unanimously passed HB2042, now moving through the Senate.

The bill requires the Department of Public Safety to regularly provide each school district with a list of fingerprint card holders who have been arrested or convicted.

It also would make educators who don’t immediately report their arrests to their schools guilty of unprofessional conduct, a punishment that calls for dismissal and exclusion from future employment in other school districts.

SENTENCED (Sorta) April 30 - Csader was sentenced to three months in jail - not prison - by lowercase judge Mina Menez. Csader faces 15 years of probation and will have to register as a sex offender. Each charge carried a maximum sentence of 1 1/2 years in prison.

[Lowercase judges are those whose egregious sentencing decisions undermine public faith and trust in the judicial system that results in a lowering regard for the court, law and decency and consequences. They dishonor themselves.]
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CERTIFICATES REVOKED August 3, 2008 Board of Education minutes voted to revoke Csader's teaching certificates.

Tucson, ARIZONA

Nov 20, 2007 -
Joshua Schwartz, 30, a St. Ambrose Catholic school language arts teacher, was arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana for sale and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Neighbors reported a burglarly in progress. Police arrived and went inside to look for the suspects. What they found was described as, "a significant amount of marijuana that they believe was part of a growing operation."

Press release from the Tucson Police Department. (Dated Nov 20, 2007)

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING April 15, 2008 - Schwartz pleaded guilty to attempted production of marijuana and was sentenced to 18 months probation by Pima County Superior Court Judge Hector Campoy. While on probation, he will have to participate in substance abuse counseling, treatment and testing if deemed appropriate by his probation officer. Schwartz was fired after his arrest.

Schwartz also said he is remorseful.

“I have lost two jobs I really enjoyed and now have to start all over. Hopefully, I will have the chance to redeem myself and continue my career,” Schwartz said. “I am embarrassed regarding my involvement in the incident and hope to pay my debt to society.”

He told a pre-sentence report writer he began smoking marijuana at 18, but stopped in April 2007 because of his job.
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St. Ambrose Catholic School is a K-8 elementary school.

Thatcher, ARIZONA

STORY OF THE DAY

"Among the more wrenching claims: On Dec. 29, 2006, the night before Paula Parmeter, 37, and son Ryan were found dead of carbon-monoxide poisoning, Tim Parmeter was with his teenage paramour."

April 14, 2008 - Eastern Arizona College basketball coach Tim Parmeter, 37, was arrested on a charge of sexual conduct with a minor. A former student, now 18, alleges that she and Parmeter had numerous sexual relations at various places, including his home and his school office. The relationship lasted two years and began when she was 16.

He has been under investigation for some months. Investigators recorded a phone conversation between Parmeter and his accuser and then a meeting between the two at the coach's office. He was fired Jan 17.

He filed for divorce from his wife in December 2006. His wife committed suicide along with killing their 2-year-old son . At the time Parmeter portrayed himself as another victim of a deranged wife in a touching story of his valor for carrying on after the deaths. That story and others generated a lot of sympathy.

Paula and Ryan were in the back seat of a black Volvo. The boy lay on the floor, wrapped in a blue blanket, with stuffed animals and toys beside him. The garage door was closed, with blankets stuffed into cracks. The car ignition was on, but it had stopped running when the gas tank ran empty.

There was a camera on the seat. The last photograph showed Ryan standing inside the car, still conscious, but his lips apparently had reddened from carbon-monoxide exposure.

Paula Parmeter had written and sent suicide notes to her husband, family members and friends.

Shamelessly, Parmeter shared his wife's suicide note with the CBS reporter for the story that pictures a eerily-grinning photo of the reporter at the top that's completely inappropriate considering the subject matter. Parmeter even provided a picture of him with his son posing in front of a stadium for the article.

Chandler, ARIZONA

April 7, 2008 - Ronald Cates 41, a teacher at Chandler Middle School Kyrene del Pueblo Middle School , was arrested on allegations of sexual conduct with a minor and molestation of a child.

A former student and athlete of Cates’ alleged that Ronald Cates molested him over a period of five years, between 1999 and 2003. Cates was employed as a teacher at the school for sixteen years before retiring resigning on February 29, 2008.

Detectives interviewed Ronald Cates and he was subsequently released from police custody. A search warrant was served on his residence in Tempe on February 27, 2008, and numerous items were seized. Charges are pending further investigation.

Full Name: Ronald Martin Cates

Anyone with information relevant to this investigation should contact Detective Brendan Busse of the Chandler Police Department at 480-782-4410, or 480-782-4130.

Source: Media News release from the Chandler Police Department.
No online press release at this time. Chandler Police Department.

RESIGNATION IN FEBRUARY April 7 - Cates was a an eighth-grade Language Arts instructor. Cates requested to be released from his contract at the school in order to pursue another job on Feb. 15, before the abuse allegations surfaced, Alexander said. The board approved his request on Feb. 26, and police called the next day to tell the district that Cates was in custody.

Cates resigned after 16 years at the school and he is no longer employed by the district.

NO CHARGES YET - April 7 - No charges have been filed and the case has not been submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Police made the investigation public in an effort to find other possible victims.

According to court documents, former student, now 22, met Cates when he was in the sixth grade. Cates spent time outside of school with the boy, who was the child of a single mother, tutoring and helping him with his school assignments, documents state.

The former student told investigators he first had sex with Cates when he was 14 in 1999 and it continued throughout his high school years. He said Cates bought him booze, prescription drugs and steroids, and got him to sell them to fellow school friends to supplement Cates’ finances.

Other allegations are even more lurid.