Logan, OHIO

We don't understand either.

July 2, 2008 - Bernard C. Montgomery, 58, a Logan High School teacher, was in court for a pre-trial hearing. He was charged with four counts of contributing to unruliness for allegedly taking two students out of school and taking them to Florida. Without, it seems, the knowledge or consent of their parents or the school.

According to an affidavit from a search warrant executed Dec. 19, Logan High School Principal Jim Robinson was first alerted by a parent about possible inappropriate relations between Montgomery and two students in early December.

The defense attorney challenged the lack of specificity.

Judge Rick Wallar ordered Hocking County Prosecutor Larry Beal to amend his original complaint against Montgomery by Thursday.
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July 3, 2008 - Out with the old, in with the new
Recent allegations against a teacher of the Logan-Hocking School District regarding his accompanying students on a trip out of state were brought to the attention of the school district administrators by students and parents. Immediately, school administrators contacted local police and informed them of the allegations and provided them with all information so they could thoroughly investigate the matter.

After the allegations arose, the teacher did not return to school but was placed on administrative leave. On Dec. 28, the teacher submitted his resignation and will not be returning to work.
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State corrected. Thank you.

Video Voyerism

He told appellate judges that because his girlfriend agreed to be naked in his presence, she had no reasonable expectation of privacy -- even in her own home.

July 2, 2008 - A challenge to the state's "video voyeur" law by a -- you guessed it - a teacher who pleaded guilty in April 2007 to one count of filming his girlfriend nude without her consent. Two other secret taping charges were dropped.

Former Waunakee High School chemistry teacher Mark Jahnke, 44,did not distribute the recordings, according to court documents. He was sentenced to three years of probation and six months in jail, with sentence stayed pending appeal. Waunakee school officials had voted to terminate his employment, then negotiated his resignation from the district.

Jahnke's girlfriend became aware of the taping when she saw a red light beneath a pile of clothes in her bedroom. When police searched Jahnke's house, police seized 33 audio tapes of the couple having sex and three DVDs, one of the couple engaged in sex, and two of his girfriend nude in her home.

The case is before Wisconsin 4th District Court of Appeals. Jahnke told appellate judges that because his girlfriend agreed to be naked in his presence, she had no reasonable expectation of privacy.
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ONLINE RESOURCE: No date has been scheduled for a decision in this case, but you can find Wisconsin Appeals Court decisions here.

CONNECTICUT

Van Clifton McKenzie-Adams reports to prison, having lost all legal challenges.

Feb 20, 2007 - The Connecticut State Supreme Court ruled that laws that criminalize teacher-student sex do not infringe on one's constitutional right to privacy.

the justices said sexual acts "between individuals who are situated in an inherently coercive relationship, such as the teacher-student relationship" are not guaranteed the right of sexual privacy.

Court opinion here. [TT- graphic language warning.]

The teacher, Van Clifton McKenzie-Adams, was sentenced in 2004 to seven years in prison for having sex with two Career High School students. He acted improperly to a third student who rebuffed him.

Oct 13 - Having lost all his legal challenges, McKenzie-Adams surrendered in Superior Court Friday and went to prison for sexually assaulting two of his students.

Senior Assistant State's Attorney Gene Calistro Jr. noted what prosecutors have stressed throughout the years of litigation against McKenzie-Adams: "Even though the claim is it was consensual, a teacher is in a position of authority. Having that power over a student is the crux of the case. There is an inequity between a teenage student and an adult teacher. The sentence was fair."

Further,

When Emanuel argued the case in the state Supreme Court in September 2006, he asserted the court had ruled that people 16 or older are deemed to be adults for sexual purposes. He said such conduct is protected by the right of privacy.But state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who filed a brief supporting the prosecutors, said at that time, "A teacher does not have a constitutional right to sex with a student. Teachers are authority figures with the unique responsibility to effectively educate - not sexually exploit - our children."

After Emanuel lost that round in the state Supreme Court last February, he appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court has declined to hear the case.

Little Rock, ARKANSAS

August 25, 2007 - A group of taxpayers is challenging the constitutionality of using tax revenue to make severance payments to buyout of $635,000 a school district superintendent. The Arkansas Supreme Court granted a temporary stay, but one day after the school district paid former Little Rock School District Superintendent Roy Brooks.

The activity at the Supreme Court on Friday capped a week in which the School Board held a hastily called meeting Tuesday evening to approve a proposed financial settlement between the board and Brooks.

The settlement was put into final written form Wednesday and then signed by Brooks, his attorney, two School Board officers, and the board’s attorney Wednesday and Thursday.

The agreement called for the preparation of seven checks, including one of $ 350, 101. 74 to Brooks and another of $ 193, 069. 42 to Brooks’ attorneys at the Williams & Anderson law firm.
The other checks in amounts ranging from $ 5, 076 to $ 49, 014 were earmarked for various insurance, investment and retirement organizations, some based in Arkansas and others based outside the state.

They made payments totalling nearly $600,000, knowing that the Arkansas Supreme Court had yet to act.

The school district attorney argued that they payments were more than severance pay, but financial settlement of all claims that Brooks has against the district, and it pays Brooks for his legal fees and for his cooperation in some lawsuits involving the district.

See some other, what we call, Bad Hiring Decisions - here here here

COURT DECISION

August 13, 2007 - The 2003 conviction of Arielle Beck, 28, has been overturned by the Utah Supreme Court as they upheld Utah Court of Appeals decision that jurors may have been "influenced" by questioning by the judge.

Beck was convicted of sexual abuse of Kelly Sowell, then 14. The girl committed suicide by hanging herself two years later. Her brother committed suicide two months after that.

Link not provided at story, but the case is State of Utah vs. Arielle M. Beck No. 20060609 (Dated Aug 10, 2007)

During the trial, the district judge actively questioned Beck in the presence of the jury concerning weak points in her testimony. She was convicted, and appealed. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the judge’s questioning created an impermissible appearance of bias against Beck by the court, and was an error that should have been obvious to the judge at the time.

They ruled the trial judge had overstepped his bounds. He asked the defendant 48 questions in front of the jury, and the Utah Supreme Court agreed that the court of appeals correctly decided that the trial judge exceeded his permitted discretion in some of the questioning he engaged in and he was in error. He usurped the function of counsel.

Prosecutors don't know if they will retry Beck.

TT - See Teacher Ethics in Utah. Including bad sentencing. We complained then,

If we didn't have sex offender registration, it would hardly be worth the effort of prosecution of these cases for the victim, or their families.

TT - See Outrageous Sentencing of Brandy Yates

UPDATE: Sept 15 - Beck is now out of jail.

RETRIAL SCHEDULED October 27, 2008 - The second trial has been scheduled to begin April 20.

Legal Ruling

May 15, 2007 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously sided with a newspaper that sued to obtain access to 1,500 adult images found on Cedarburg teacher Robert Zellner's school computer.

Zellner was fired in January 2006 after the Cedarburg School District determined that he had viewed pornography on a school computer in November 2005. An arbitrator decided that Zellner should have been reprimanded and ordered that he receive his job back.

[TT - This, despite the fact that it was the second time Zellner's computer had to be reconfigured to eliminate sex-oriented pop-up ads. The computer, the Wisconsin Supreme Court noted was for his use alone. After the first incident, the school adopted a revised policy on using computers to access such sites. Zellner signed the agreement, along with other teachers. Finding the same problem the second time and Zellner's violation of the agreement led to the firing.]

The district refused to reinstate Zellner and Zellner sued.

In April, Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph D. McCormack overruled the arbitrator's decision, saying the arbitrator failed to consider that Zellner's actions amounted to "immoral conduct." Zellner has appealed McCormack's ruling.

When the The Journal Sentinel made an open records request for the images, Zellner went to court to block access.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling can be found online. It includes this observation.

Public school teachers like Zellner are in a significant position of responsibility and visibility. See Id., ¶28. They are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching children, and the public has an interest in knowing about such allegations of teacher misconduct and how they are handled. The public also has an interest in knowing how the government handles disciplinary actions of public employees. As we stated in Linzmeyer, 254 Wis. 2d 306, ¶28, "'All officers and employees of government are, ultimately, responsible to the citizens, and those citizens have a right to hold their employees accountable for the job they do.'" (Citation omitted.)

TT- From article on his firing: Zellner was the teachers union president until last year and was president when the union held a no-confidence vote against Superintendent Daryl Herrick. Zellner's attorney -- Jina Jonen -- was provided by the teacher's union.

August 30 - A judge ruled that portions of an arbitration hearing transcript on the firing of former Cedarburg High School science teacher Robert Zellner can remain confidential.

In the case decided Wednesday, Circuit Judge Paul V. Malloy sided with Zellner's attorney, Jina Jonen of the Wisconsin Education Association Council teachers union, who said portions of the arbitration hearing transcript should remain closed because they reveal private medical information about Zellner.

The school district argued that the document should be disclosed because the case involved misconduct of a public employee and the public had a right to be able to evaluate the district's handling of it.

April 4, 2008 - Nearly a year after the Wisconsin Court of Appeals was asked to decide whether Zellner should remain fired or be reinstated, the court on Wednesday sent the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for review and a determination.

LAWSUIT April 23 - The School Board has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. today for a closed-door discussion of legal strategy. Former Cedarburg High School teacher Robert Zellner filed a $9 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the School District April 16, alleging he was fired for his teachers union activity. The School Board fired Zellner in January 2006 after determining that he viewed pornography on his school computer. The board would have to reconvene into open session to take any action.

Law

Good news for the prosecution of sexual predators.

Apr 27 - The Court of Appeals ruled that explicit words are just as bad as nude pictures when they're sent to children over the Internet.

The court reinstated the conviction of a Manhattan real estate lawyer who was found writing instant messages about masturbation and other sex acts to an undercover Westchester investigator posing as a 14-year-old boy.

Last month, Gov. Eliot Spitzer signed an amendment so the law now covers communications made "either in words or images." The change was prompted by Kozlow's initial win on appeal.

Likely to be impacted: Byram Hills High School teacher Paul Wicht, who sent explicit e-mails to a 14-year-old student and tried to meet the girl for sex.

Wicht was convicted in 2005 of first-degree attempted dissemination of indecent material to minors and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years' probation, but he was allowed to remain free on bail pending appeal.

Passing the Trash - now in Court

TOP STORY OF THE DAY

It is a case that school administrators will watch carefully. The 11th Circuit court is considering a whether a school distrct can be sued for not warning another school about teacher’s alleged behavior.

A teacher was alleged to have inappropriate contact with a number of students. Other school employees raised the concerns. Students were removed from his class after parents objected. Nevertheless, the principal did nothing to investigate and did not notify anyone else. Eventually they chose not to renew Joey Wilson's contract.

Wilson was hired by another school district. The principal of the first school reportedly told the human resource director of the other district that Wilson was an excellent teacher whom the principal hated to see leave. District employees at the first school district were told not to volunteer information.

When Joey Wilson was accused of molesting children at the second school, the parents of two girls sued both school districts. A federal judge refused to dismiss the claims against the first district, Stephens County, even though the molestation alleged by the plaintiffs’ children had taken place at the second school district, in nearby White County.

Lawyers in the case said the question of a school district’s liability for a professional reference is a new one for the 11th Circuit.

Brief of the Plaintiffs pdf
Reply Brief of the Appellants pdf

The cases were Stephens County School District v. Dale, No. 06-14083, and White County School District v. Dale, No. 06-11565.
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Wilson committed suicide after being indicted for 10 counts of child molestation for abuse of children in the second school district.

TT - The term "passing the trash" was coined by Education Week for the practice of allowing itinerant abusers to move from one school district to another when troubles arise. The subhead of the report says it all: "'Passing the Trash' by School Districts Frees Sexual Predators To Hunt Again" They found it was becase "many school lawyers have been urging their clients ...to adopt policies of limited or no disclosure about past employees."

The report was written in 1998 and even then, they were alarmed at the scale of the problem.

You can find the report at their web site. It's a subscription site, but you can take out a one-month subscription.

Mechanicsburg, PENNSYLVANIA

Feb 26, 2007 - A day before sentencing, a judge ruled that John Yingst was not a sexually violent predator.

Yingst, 37, a Cumberland Valley School District teacher and [volunteer] coach, "is to be sentenced to 9 to 20 years in state prison for child molestation. The sentence is part of a deal Yingst struck in pleading guilty to numerous sex charges in August. Yingst has admitted having or trying to have sexual conduct with three girls, including a neighbor who was 11 when the molestation began."

From a 2006 article, "Yingst had been a substitute and classroom teacher at various schools in the district over the last 11 years."
Full Name: John R. Yingst

UPDATE Feb 27 - Yingst was sentenced to 9 to 20 years in state prison.

Additional reporting from The Sentinel: Yingst still has to report his address to authorities for 10 years. This is the list of charges he admitted.

Yingst pleaded guilty in August to assaulting a then-16-year-old girl once in 2005 and to sexually assaulting another girl at least 10 times a month for five years, starting in 2001 when she was 11.

The charges he pleaded guilty to are five counts of statutory sexual assault, 15 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, five counts of aggravated indecent assault and 10 counts of indecent assault, furnishing liquor to minors and corruption of minors.

He also pleaded no contest to 15 counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and five counts of aggravated indecent assault.

The two psychologists agreed on Yingst’s diagnosis of undefined paraphilia, or obsession with unusual sexual practices. They disagreed on whether he would reoffend. AND - Yingst also agreed to give authorities information about his contact with a third possible victim as part of the plea agreement, but he then refused, Stein says.

From The Patriot-News (Feb 27):

On the predator issue, [Judge] Oler noted that prosecution and defense psychological experts agreed that Yingst, who taught for 11 years, is sexually attracted to children.

Dr. Robert Stein of the state Sexual Offenders Assessment Board testified during a Feb. 16 hearing that, given the variety, frequency and duration of his sex acts with the former neighbor, Yingst is likely to engage in the same behavior when freed from prison.

[TT - but he's not a sexual predator. Go figure. Better yet, go vote in the next election.]

ARIZONA

Feb 26, 2007 - The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review the case of a teacher sentenced to 200 years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Morton Berger was sentenced in 2004 to consecutive 10-year prison terms on each of 20 convictions for sexual exploitation of a minor. Each of the 20 counts was for possessing computer and printed images of child pornography, and 10 years was the minimum sentence for each count.

Arizona law requires that the sentences be served consecutively and that they be served without the possibility of probation, early release or pardon.

Background information at LawCrossing.com link
Arrested 2002. Married, father of four, age 52, the sentence affirmed by the Arizona Supreme Court last May.

He taught at Cortez High School. The case is Morton Berger v. state of Arizona, 06-349.

Long Beach, CALIFORNIA

Jan 3, 2007 - The article is entitled, "Sex predators, or just 'inept'? It's in the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California.

NBC's Dateline "To Catch a Predator" netted 35 men in a sting last September. However, the 19 offenders sentenced so far have pleaded no contest to attempted lewd acts on a child and have received felony probation and time served as part of a plea deal offered by Long Beach Superior Court Judge Bradford Andrews. They have also been ordered to complete 60 days of community service with Caltrans and to register as sex offenders.

The sentences for other Dateline stings throughout California often face six to 12 months in jail plus fines. However, the Long Beach judge thinks have been little more than lonely, desperate people who took their fantasies too far.

[TT - It's long been our view that people don't get what they deserve, but what they tolerate.
In government, courts, schools, a media that thinks it's a game, or newspapers whose standards are so low they don't criticize or complain or reflect even minimal community standards.]