Lexington, KENTUCKY

LAWSUIT

July 19, 2007 - A lawsuit we have been following closely has concluded with a jury recommendation of $3.7 million in damages to Carol Maner, a former student who sued the Fayette County Board of Education.

The lawsuit accused the Board of Education of covering up sexual abuse by former teachers and administrators over 25 years ago. The lawsuit alleged abuse by four teachers, a guidance counselor and an assistant principal at Lafayette High School and Beaumont Junior High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Two of the teachers named in Maner’s suit were arrested last week.

UPDATE A YEAR LATER July 1, 2008 - Criminal cases against either teacher has been delayed for a year.

Madison County Commonwealth's Attorney David Smith took over the case in April.

Fayette County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson, whose office was originally assigned the case, said he had to recuse himself because the husband of a prosecutor in the office is related to one of the defendants.

Part of the delay is attributable to miscommunication within the office, Larson said.
Larson thought a prosecutor, Brad Bates, was going to write a letter transferring the cases. Bates thought Larson was going to do that. Months later, they discovered neither one had transferred them.

The two teachers are former art teacher Roberta Walter, 62, (formerly Roberta Blackwell) and former science teacher Jack Russell Hubbard, 61. Walter is charged with third-degree sodomy and third-degree rape. She retired from the Fayette County school district in May 1998. Hubbard, who left the district in 1981, is charged with one count of third-degree rape and four counts of first-degree sodomy.

Smith office is reviewing the tape of Maner's civil trial and is preparing to present the cases to a grand jury.

San Franciso, CALIFORNIA

It's Wednesday, his bondage night.

July 19, 2007 - Police arrested Terry D. Frazier, 40, in connection with the murder of Joe Konopka, a 65-year-old former community activist. It was, they think, a sadomasochistic bondage session that went awry,

In recent years, police said, Konopka engaged in sex and bondage sessions, always on Wednesday evenings while his wife, a school administrator, attended San Mateo Union High School District board meetings.

How quaint.

Babble

July 19, 2007 - The editorial board of The Post-Star [Glen Falls, NY] discussed "mandates" with the head of the New York State United Teachers union. (Mandates = teacher union talk for the No Child Left Behind Act.)

NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi said during an interview with The Post-Star editorial board that rather than testing, he wants schools to be less dependent on testing, so more focus goes toward developing the growth of a child.

"From our perspective, it [The No Child Left Behind Act] went at it in a punitive way, a tremendous overdependence on testing — snapshot testing rather than measuring the growth of a child," Iannuzzi said about NCLB.

And then,

The bill has also put pressure on teachers while limiting how much exposure to history, the arts, and foreign languages students receive."What is expected of teachers, in terms of total package of time and energy, is not unreasonable," he said.

"What’s unreasonable is so much of the time and energy is devoted to preparing for testing; testing that is not necessarily as valuable as it should be, and then reacting to the results to tests, as opposed to what teachers are trained for — the art of teaching, looking at the growth of a child, developing awareness and understanding."We move away from that, and move toward testing," he said.

TT - Read the whole thing again and replace "testing" with "teaching."

Godwin Heights, MICHIGAN

What is "unethical behavior?"

July 19, 2007 - Firing teachers is a legal dance.

A veteran Godwin Heights High School teacher is on paid leave while the district files tenure charges to have him fired over what administrators call "performance issues."

Superintendent Valdis Gailitis said Wednesday the Board of Education voted Tuesday to dismiss science teacher Robert Czachorski for "unethical behavior."

Czachorski has taught in the district for 37 years.

Gailitis said he could not discuss details of the charges because Czachorski requested the session be conducted behind closed doors. A hearing before the state teacher tenure commission, which will determine whether he will be fired, has yet to be scheduled.

Gailitis said the teacher was placed on administrative leave near the end of the school year because of classroom performance issues.

He said there are no criminal charges and no students were involved.

Czachorski referred questions to his union attorney, Fil Iorio, who said he will fight charges of poor performance.

"You don't last 37 years as a teacher if there are performance issues," he said. "Mr. Czachorski has had good evaluations, and we will challenge this."

TT - Chances are the newspaper will not follow up on the attempt to fire the teacher, the teacher will incur no cost whatsoever in fighting the action, the school will continue to pay him for not being in the classroom as well as the cost of a substitute to replace him when this drags on to the new school year. Taxpayers will also pay for the school district attorney's time as well as the tenure commission. No final report will ever be public as both sides claim "confidentiality."

Greenville, SOUTH CAROLINA

The teacher apologized for his actions and told the judge that he wanted to move on with his life.





July 19, 2007 -
Lance Diefenderfer, 38 a Southside High School teacher and assistant principal, was sentenced after pleading guilty to having a sexual relationship with a student in 2003.

He pleaded guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He resigned in September 2006 after a conversation with Prinicipal Paulette Payne about possible “inappropriate behavior.” He was arrested and charged in November 2006. The girl was in the 11th grade. The victim reported the incidents to the sheriff’s office after watching a TV special that had similarities to her relationship with Difenderfer.

The sentence was one year of home incarceration, two years probation and a $3,000 fine. As a condition of the plea agreement, Diefenderfer’s teaching license was permanently revoked last week.

TT - Why should permanent revocation of a license be a bargaining point in the first place? Why isn't it a given that someone guilty of a sex crime - even a misdemeanor - automatically loses their license to teach in South Carolina and in every other state?

South Carolina permanent voluntary surrender of educator certificate.

Misconduct Reporting

July 19, 2007 - Found in an Albuquerque Tribune story about the voyeurism teacher in New Mexico.

The state has new laws that require school district officials to report allegations of teacher misconduct to the bureau to prevent the movement of problem teachers around the state. In the past, some districts have hired teachers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked.

In 2006, two Albuquerque educators lost their licenses after investigations into misappropriation of funds and sexual relations with a student.

The bureau conducted more than 100 investigations in 2006, revoked the licenses of 17 educators and suspended three others. The 20 actions set a three-year high, which state officials said reflected a tougher stance on teacher misconduct.

Districts are not notified of actions against a teacher's license until after the teacher is on the job. License checks are done on the 40th, 80th and 120th day of school, state officials said.

TT - What they don't tell you is that ten of the 17 involved sex crimes, pornography and sexual relationships with students. As of November 2006, the department's Ethics Bureau was investigating 104 cases of teacher misconduct. "Those include 27 cases carried over from 2005." TT - LINK

It's worth following education stories in New Mexico.
TT - LINK and LINK

Child Pornography

July 19, 2007 - We don't know how an unpublished study on child pornography conducted by psychologists treating sex offenders at federal prisons can be, in the words of the New York Times, "stirring a vehement debate among psychologists, law enforcement officers and prison officials, who cannot agree on how the findings should be presented or interpreted."

The Bureau of Prisons ordered the study paper to be withdrawn in April because it did not meet agency approval.

Sometimes the New York Times has agendas so obscure that reflexively you dismiss their word with a strong glass of scepticism.

TT maintains a list of teachers and administrators who have been Sentenced for Child Pornography and a separate list of those who have Pleaded Guilty - to be sentenced.

Arroyo Grande, CALIFORNIA

The Nifong defense.

July 19, 2007 - You knew it would happen after North Carolina's Mike Nifong demonstrated prosecutorial misconduct to a national audience in the Duke University prosecution.

In the closing arguments in the case against David Eugene Grey, the 70-year-old elementary school teacher accused of French kisssing a student, his lawyer invoked the Nifong defense.

During his closing statements, defense attorney David Hurst told the jury he doesn't want the case to turn into something like the Duke University lacrosse team rape case, where the public and officials assumed guilt when three rape charges were announced.

TT - In Grey's case, there is a previous history and indication that the school district and the district attorney may have ignored police recommendations in the past.
See TT -LINK to his entry.

Thompkinsville, KENTUCKY

Sentenced to ten years.

First reported: Jan 2, 2007 - WKBO had their own "Local 2006 Top 10 Stories" that included (at #7) " the case of a Tompkinsville teacher who’s charged with running off to Mexico with a 14-year-old student."

Angela Comer, 26, an 8th grade math teacher at Monroe County Middle School, is accused of having a sexual relationship with the boy and then taking him to Mexico. "Officials in Kentucky said the pair fled to Texas, and then Mexico, to try to get married." Comer is still in jail awaiting her trial." She was indicted in January 2006.

Update May 1 - Comer is asking for a change of venue for her trial.

Comer was arrested by Mexican officials in 2006. The middle school math teacher for fled the country with a 14-year-old student and her four-year-old son. In January 2006, Comer was indicted by a grand jury in Kentucky on felony custodial interference, two counts of third-degree sodomy and four counts of unlawful transaction with a minor relating to sexual acts.

CourtTV background story.

Comer is incarcerated while she waits for her trial. No date given for trial or explanation for the delay.

Update May 2 -The judge refused to grant a change of venue. Last fall, Comer was ruled competent to stand trial. Trial is scheduled for May 10.

Update May 9 - Comer pleaded guilty to a sodomy charge and to one count of custodial interference. The plea agreement, apparently, calls for 10 years in jail. The boy's grandmother was in the court. After Comer's arrest, the boy was removed from her care and put into a foster home. He's embarrassed by the incident and has had little contact with his family since he was moved into foster care, she said.

Comer gave an interview to the Associated Press after the court appearance. Comer said she expects to be eligible for parole after serving 24 months of the sentence. Comer has been in jail for the 16 months since her arrest.

Comer also said since her arrest her ex-husband has not permitted her to see her 5-year-old son, who is autistic.

Formal sentencing in June 20.

UPDATE June 20 - Sentencing was delayed because a presentencing evaluation wasn't complete. A new sentencing date has been set for July 18.

INTERVIEW - July 16 - Two days before sentencing, Comer wanted to tell her side of the story and a newspaper granted her an interview.

SENTENCING: July 18: Comer was sentenced to ten years in prison, five for each charge, to be served consecutively.

[Judge] Lovelace told the court room he was "appalled" at her behavior and considering any other punishment other than time served would minimize the seriousness of her crime.

She will be up for parole in 24-months.

Chaska, MINNESOTA

NOT GUILTY VERDICT AFTER 2 HR DELIBERATION

Mar 8, 2007 - A date has been set for the trial of Julia Lund, 28, a Chaska High School ESL (English as a second language) teacher arrested Dec 14.

She was charged with third-degree criminal sex conduct after a 17-year-old male student made allegations of inappropriate behavior. See Kare 11 coverage. Third-degree criminal sexual conduct involves sexual penetration with a victim older than 16 but younger than 18 by a person in a position of authority.

She has been on [paid] administrative leave since the allegations were made. Her next court date is April 12. The jury trial is scheduled for May 8.

Update May 8 - Lund's trial date has been rescheduled to begin July 10.

NOT GUILTY - Story dated July 16 - A jury found Lund not guilty after two hours of deliberation.

NOT GUILTY VERDICT AFTER 2 HR DELIBERATION

July 17 - From WCCO.com

Lund's defense argued that not all wrong-doing is criminal. After the verdict was announced, Lund sobbed and hugged her husband.

Albuquerque, NEW MEXICO

July 18, 2007 - Christopher Lucero, 24, a 6th grade teacher at Lavaland Elementary School last year, was arrested and charged with four counts of felony voyeurism after being accused of using a video camera to shoot up the skirts of young girls at an amusement park.

Under the state's voyeurism law, it's illegal to take pictures up a skirt showing a person's undergarments. Lucero is charged with a fourth-degree felony because the case involves a child.

Police spokesman John Walsh said Lucero had a camera attached to his shoe with a wire running up his pants leg to a recorder in his pocket.

Police reviewed the camera footage and found what they described as inappropriate pictures of four young girls.

See Albuquerque Journal. The father of an 8-year-old chased the pervert down. LINK Story is being updated continually online at the paper.

July 21 - Lucero pleaded not guilty. A grand jury is slated to consider the case on Sept. 17.

Leonardtown, MARYLAND

I remember when .. hic... there used to... hic .. used to be... hic shtandards in schools.

July 18, 2007 - A 52-year-old Leonardtown High School English teacher will be spending two months in jail this summer for a DUI conviction.

He was found guilty in a court trial in August 2006 and was sentenced to 120 days, with 60 days suspended.

The sentence was postponed until June 11 — the last day of school for teachers — to allow for [the teacher] to teach last year.

[He] has two prior convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol — in June 1988 and December 1995, according to court records.

School Principal O’Neill did say that the teacher would likely be continuing to teach at Leonardtown this fall. ‘‘I think he’s a very capable teacher.”

TT - He will be hard pressed to beat the Masschusetts ** health** teacher who is still teaching after 5 DUI convictions.

Aurora, ILLINOIS

July 18, 2007 - Ronald L. Watson Jr., 26, a West Aurora High School teacher, was indicted and charged with three counts of criminal sexual assault and three counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse for incidents that are alleged to have occurred in March 2006 with a 17-year-old female student. He pleaded not guilty.

Watson resigned in December after the school became aware of the relationship. The school alerted police.

Although the student had reached the age of sexual consent, a 17-year-old cannot legally consent to sexual activity with anyone in a position of authority or supervision -- such as a teacher.

Watson is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 23.

Chicago Daily Herald headline: Ex-W. Aurora teacher arrested for tryst with student. The headline editor apparently missed the words, "sexual abuse" and "sexual assault."

Anyone with additional information about Watson should call the Kane County Child Advocacy Center at (630) 208-5160.

Kane County Chronicle: His father-in-law posted his bail.

Watson resigned in December 2006 when the criminal investigation began.
The allegations mark the first against Watson, but are not the first time a teacher in the West Aurora school district has faced similar accusations.

Curtis Shaw, 56, a teacher and coach at the high school, was placed on paid leave last September after he was charged with sexually abuse. He has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a 52-year-old woman in his home, and awaits trial.

In April 2004, a lawsuit was filed against the school district, stating that a Jefferson Middle School seventh-grader was sexually abused in 2003 by a man who was allowed to remove the 13-year-old from the school several times during school hours.

Sept 11 - SHAW WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY IN A BENCH TRIAL.

Bohemia, NEW YORK

July 18, 2007 - Jeffrey Biglin, 24, a Connetquot High School substitute teacher and coach, was arrested and charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of the student for sending sexually explicit text messaging to a female student and arranging middle-of-the-night meetings outside the girl's home.

The Suffolk Police Press Release doesn't have much more information except they say he engaged in sexually explicit text messaging with a female juvenile student. No age given.

Degree Scandal

July 17, 2007 - From the New York Times.

Touro College’s former admissions director and former computer center director and three New York City public school teachers have been indicted on charges that they took part in a scheme involving fraudulent transcripts, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgentau, said yesterday.

He said those defendants were among 10 people indicted in a “cash for grades scheme” in which students’ transcripts were altered and transcripts and degrees were created for people who had never attended the institution, including the three city teachers. The teachers were said to have bought falsified master’s degrees from Touro that helped in their promotion and their certification

The teachers are Florence Constant, Renee Rene and Ghislene Joseph Julmice. A NY State a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education

said they were still on the payroll but were not working this summer. She added that they would be reassigned to positions outside the classroom until the charges were resolved, and dismissed if found guilty. She said that Ms. Constant and Ms. Rene were both tenured and could not be dismissed without a hearing.

Constant made $64,333 a year. Rene was paid $60,889 a year. Julmice was paid $42,512 a year.

New York Press says there are indications the scam has been ongoing since 2003. The three teachers paid $3,000 each for certificates in special education—entitling them to employment bonuses—even though they had never taken any classes.

Newsday: "Money was collected from the teachers by a bag man who was identified in Baron's cell phone by the nickname Jimmy Bag, the district attorney said."

The New York Post headline: 'B.S.' DEGREES $CAM AT TOURO

Prosecutors are desperate to determine whether any of the dummy diplomas include bogus bachelor's of science in physician-assistant studies - the degree necessary to become a certified physician's assistant.

Investigators found blank physician's-assistant certificates while searching one of the administrators' homes - that of ex-admissions honcho and accused mastermind Andrique Baron, 34.

Rockport, MAINE

July 18, 2007 - Brian Roberts, 41, a former Camden Hills High School teacher, was arrested for stalking a 17-year old former student.

He was charged with charged with stalking, violation of a protective order and violating conditions of release after he allegedly tried to text-message a traveling companion of the young woman in Hawaii. He also reportedly contacted a friend of the girl and asked the friend to have the girl call him.

Roberts was arrested last month after the young female reported to police that harassing phone calls were being made to her from Roberts' apartment. Five underage males were found drinking at the apartment, and Roberts was charged with furnishing a place for minors to consume, furnishing alcohol to minors and violating a protective order.

(TT - A story in the Bangor Daily News archives dated June 12 reported that the boys said they had made the calls and Roberts had put them up to it. The girl had previously obtained a court-ordered protection from abuse order against Roberts.)

Source: VillageSoup/Waldo County Citizen

TT - It would be nice to know why he's no longer a teacher.

ARRESTED (Again) September 6, 2008 - Roberts was arrested for stalking after he reportedly attempted to communicate with a young woman who had obtained a protective order to keep him away.

Roberts spent time in jail last year for incidents involving the young woman, who now lives out of state. Chief Jeff Trafton said Roberts was released from jail with a condition that he not contact her.

But once the protective order and his probation expired, Trafton said, Roberts tried again to contact the female, who is now 18. The woman notified police, and Roberts was arrested without incident.

Foolish Editorial

RANT OF THE DAY

July 18, 2007 - The St. Petersburg Times editorializes against the 5 1/2 year sentence for Daniel Zdrodowski, the 28-year-old music teacher who had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student. TT - LINK for Zdrodowski

At sentencing, [Prosectuor] McCabe also objected to any punishment less than the 5 1/2-year prison term prescribed under state guidelines. [Judge] Ley, in turn, followed the guideline - even though it was blind to the unusual circumstances in play. In this case, the girl and her mother fought prosecution. The boyfriend is 11 years older. He and the girl claim to be in love, to have considered marriage and to have ended their relationship until she was to turn 18. Can a state that should be focused on violent crime really afford to find a space in its prisons for Zdrodowski?

The prosecutor is right that Zdrodowski violated a public trust when he developed a romantic relationship with a student. That's one reason the Pinellas school system moved so quickly to investigate the original allegation, which came from another student, and why he lost his privilege to teach.

The real issue here is whether laws designed to protect children from sexual predators are the tools by which to judge more complicated affairs that involve the consent of both parties and both families involved. At the point a prosecutor seeks to throw a young woman in jail for refusing to behave like a victim, maybe someone needs to step back and look at the larger picture. Who is the victim here?

TT - The better question ought to be, Who is the adult here?

It wouldn't be half bad, except the Times Publishing Company that owns (funds, really) the St. Petersburg Times also owns Poynter Institute that trains a good many journalists. And you wonder why so many of our Peter Pan Press act the way they do? The editorial could have been written by a Harlequin Romance writer, but Harlequin is owned by Torstar - the Toronto Star.

Jeffersonville, INDIANA

July 17, 2007 - Only two people have challenged Jeffersonville’s sex offender law that prohbits convicted sex offenders from entering public parks. The law provides exemptions to the law under limited circumstances.

The only two who have requested exemption in two different actions are both school teachers.

Go figure.

Rose Bud, ARKANSAS

Article dated July 17, 2007 - Kenneth Barrow, 39, a math teacher in the Rose Bud School District, was arrested July 6 and charged with sexual solicitation of a child and second-degree sexual assault. He is alleged to have had sex with a teenage student.

No other details were available.

Golconda, ILLINOIS

Article dated July 17, 2007 - Jordan Livingston, 24, a math teacher and basketball coach at Pope County Elementary, was arrested on July 13, accused of sexual involvement with a 14-year-old female student.

The first two charges, criminal sexual assault, contend Livingston, while in a position of authority over the 14-year-old female victim, committed two acts of sexual penetration.He was a teacher and the victim was a student and that is the reasoning behind the charges, Nelson said.

Charges three and four, aggravated criminal sexual abuse, contend Livingston committed two sexual acts with the young victim. The charges point to the same incident, Nelson said.

Full Name: Jordan Andrew Livingston

Forest, VIRGINIA

July 17, 2007 - Stanley Deloach, Jr., 48, a Forest Middle School teacher, was arrested July 11, accused of sending sexually explicit messages, pictures and live video to an online undercover officer he thought was a 14-year-old girl. He resigned before his arrest.

The arrest was on charges of the publication, sale and possession with intent to distribute or finance child pornography and use of a communication system to facilitate certain offenses involving children.

Bedford County's Blue Ridge Thunder is helping with this ongoing investigation. They are asking that you call them about any similar incidents involving Mr. Deloach. Their number is 434-534-9521.

See WSET ch 13 coverage of community reaction.

UPDATE July 17 - The News & Advance reports that DeLoach's June 7 resignation was not connected to the allegations.

The school system was not aware of the allegations at the time of Deloach’s resignation, Blevins said.

“We were dealing with him on something else,” he said.

The school system told Deloach that he was not to have any further contact with students after his resignation, Blevins said.

However, WSLS Newschannel 10 said Deloach took a small group of Forest Middle students to tour the Roanoke television station on June 18.

“He did that after he told us he wouldn’t,” Blevins said. “But see, school is out and if he did that as a private citizen, there’s nothing we can do about that.”

Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown requests anyone with relevant information to contact the sheriff’s office at (434) 534-9521.

See the comments at the story. He has a wife and three children. The graphic details in the story disturbed one poster, but the sordidness is the reality. That's what Child Pornography is - a crime scene.

San Juan Capistrano, CALIFORNIA

Story dated July 14, 2007 - Two Orange County administrators at the Capistrano Unified School District pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the alleged creation of an enemies list to thwart a recall effort.

Both were indicted by a grand jury in May. Former Supt. James A. Fleming was charged with misappropriating public funds, using public funds to influence an election and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public. Assistant Supt. Susan McGill was charged with lying to a grand jury and conspiracy to commit an act injurious to the public.

Orange County prosecutors are also planning a civil action against Capistrano Unified School District officials for allegedly conducting business in secret. The trustees and administrators of the school district have been mired in a string of controversies for more than three years.

See "Grand jury transcripts shed new light into CUSD probe" The administrators reportedly used student databases to identify recall petitioners and the schools their children attended.

Exporting Pedophilia

It's their fault - the street urchins in Indonesia.

AN Indonesian court has cut three years off a jail term handed to an Australian teacher who sexually abused street kids, ruling the crimes were "not entirely" his fault.

Peter William Smith, 48, was originally sentenced to 10 years in jail after he was found guilty of paying teenage boys as little as $5 each for sexual acts, which he also filmed.

Smith, who committed the crimes at his home between 2003 and 2006, was a teacher at the Australian Government-funded Indonesia Australia Language Foundation in Jakarta at the time.

Indonesia's High Court, which heard his appeal, ruled his original 10-year term was excessive despite judges in his original trial noting he had committed similar offences in Australia, India and Pakistan.

The High Court judges said the abuse was not entirely Smith's fault, and some of the blame rested with the street urchins who lingered at his South Jakarta home.

"The High Court considered the District Court verdict has been precise and correct and was based on well and correct considerations except on the term of jail … it is too harsh," the judges said in a written ruling. "The sentence given to Smith needs to be reduced because the crime was not entirely caused by [the] defendant's mistake, but also because the presence of the victims in his house wanting to get money from him."

Smith spent four years in a Northern Territory jail in the 1990s, under the name of Ellis David Eyre, for sexually abusing Aboriginal children.

Mishawaka, INDIANA

TRIAL: July 17, 2007 - Teresa Getz, a teacher's aide at Grissom Middle School, is scheduled to go to trial today on charges of having a relationship with a 14-year-old boy from her special education class.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for December 19th and a trial is expected to take place after the new year.

Show Low, ARIZONA

July 17, 2007 - Tommi Jane Mariscal, 30, a Show Low Intermediate School teacher, was arrested for alleged sexual conduct with a 16-year-old boy.

The victim reportedly told police he began contacting Mariscal in late December or early January at a basketball game via text messaging. Afterwards, the victim began coming to Mariscal's house with a few friends who would baby-sit her four kids.

The victim told police that after the initial contact with Mariscal, he had sex with her every weekend in succession for three weeks, with Mariscal initiating the incidents.

Police began investigating in March.

Ypsilanti, MICHIGAN

July 16, 2007 - Eastern Michigan University fired university president John Fallon along with the Vice President of Student Affairs, Jim Vick, and the school's public safety director, Cindy Hall . The board is also placing a letter of discipline in the file of Kenneth McKanders, the university's attorney.

All three were accused of covering up the murder of Laura Dickerson, who was found dead in her room December 15. University officials told her parents and the media she had asphyxiated and that there was no sign of foul play. When a student was arrested and charged with her murder, it was the first time that her parents and students learned she was raped and murdered.

[Laura's father] says the university wasn't straightforward from the get-go, "We were told the night they found Laura that there was no foul play. Even when the medical examiner's report said foul-play suspected."

An investigation by the Department of Education and a private lawyer followed. Both determined that the university had violated the federal Clery Act, which requires colleges and universities to disclose campus security details.

Many in the university's administration were accused of covering up the truth and endangering students to protect the school's image, which has been marred in recent years by tensions with faculty, students and the community.

Also see WoodTV 8 coverage.

Dolthan, ALABAMA

July 16, 2007 - Keaton Lamar Battle, 34, was arrested and charged with two counts of enticing a child for immoral purposes.

Battle was a teacher at PASS Academy when the offenses occurred. Police say he just completed his first year of teaching at the academy and that the two warrants revolved around incidents involving male students. He was arrested in Georgia.

From the Dolthan Eagle:

The crime of Enticing a Child for Immoral Purposes is defined in Alabama law as “to entice, allure, persuade, or invite, or attempt to entice, allure, persuade, or invite, any child under 16 years of age to enter any vehicle, room, house, office, or other place” for sexual purposes. It is a Class C Felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

Battle is out on bail.

Update July 20 - Battle worked six months before a background check revealed arrests in Georgia for simple battery and depositing worthless checks. The school board let him go in May before they were notified by the state Department of Education that, despite the arrests, Battle met the suitability criteria for employment.

Update July 22 - Turns out that Battle previously worked in Seminole County, Georgia, before coming to PASS, and the former school district gave him an excellent rating. Except they failed to mention that Battle had been charged in Seminole County for roughing up a student. PASS learned about the history in March and let Battle teach until May when they did not renew him.

Update July 25 - At the time of his arrest, Battle was working as a playground director for the Andrew Belle Community Center . S

ee TT - LINK for Dolthan Alabama

Lincolnton, NORTH CAROLINA

First Reported Oct 24, 2006 -
John Tyler Beatty, 28 , East Lincoln High School history teacher, was arrested and charged with faces four felony counts of sexual activity between school personnel and a student and three felony counts of taking indecent liberties with a student by school personnel.

GUILTY PLEA AND SENTENCING
July 16, 2007 - Beatty pleaded guilty to guilty to all seven charges and received judgment for two of the most serious charges of sex offense. He was sentenced to 10 to 12 months, followed by 36 months of supervised probation. With credit for time served until the sentencing, he will have 6 months left to serve.

His parents and wife spoke on his behalf at the sentencing. The student was between 16 and 17.

A sexual relationship with another student slightly older than this victim indicated a full-blown affair was discovered. Furthermore, students interviewed indicated Beatty made sexual statements and asked questions about students’ sex lives.

The girl's mother also testified at the sentencing hearing.

“He brainwashed her, just as I am sure he brainwashed other victims,” she said.

Not only has the victim lost the best years of her life, she has lost her friends and the trust of those in the community, her mother said.

“Other girls were victims of Mr. Beatty,” she said. “They couldn’t find the courage to come forward because of his threats. Even though this appears as Mr. Beatty’s first offense, it is not. It’s the only one to appear before the community.”

Beatty and his wife have a 15-month-old baby.

LICENSE ACTION: February 2008 License Revoked. Reason: Felony convictions for sexual offenses. N.C. Board of Education.

Thompkinsville, KENTUCKY

July 14, 2007 - Angela Comer, now 28, is scheduled to be sentenced this week, but she wanted to tell her side of the story so a newspaper interviewed her.

Comer, to be brief, fled to Mexico with her 3-year-old son and a 14-year-old boy with whom she was having a sex. She has been in jail since her arrest in 2006. In the interview, she now claims the 14-year-old held her at gunpoint. She entered a guilty plea on May 9 to one count of third degree sodomy and to custodial interference.

TT - LINK to Comer

Farmington, UTAH

When she's old enough to be your mother.

July 16, 2007 -
Kathryn Louise Parmley, 49, a Davis School District speech and language pathologist, was sentenced to one year in jail - with work release privileges - and three years' probation after pleading guilty to sexual battery on a 17-year-old male student. The battery charge was a misdemeanor that precluded sex offender registration.

The judge, however, was concerned that she did not take responsibility for her actions. He made part of the sentence a condition

forbidding her from being around anyone under age 18 including her 4-year-old grandson

, whom she had been tending three times a week.

The judge accepted a recommendation from Adult Probation and Parole that Parmley get treatment along with a polygraph test so that she acknowledges what exactly occurred and her role in it. Otherwise, Memmott said, the information he has indicates Parmley is at an "elevated risk" of doing something like this again.At the time of her arrest, Parmley, is married to Rich Parmley, a Weber County prosecutor.

At the time of her arrest, her lawyer had this defense, "She's not doing well with it at all. She loves her job, she has a master's degree and she's very capable. It's been very, very difficult. It's a difficult situation all around."
-------------------
License revoked for five years.

Denver, COLORADO

Retrial results in guilty verdict and 210 YEAR sentence for pervert.

July 16, 2007 - Donald Shissler, 74, a teacher's assistant at North and West High Schools and former foster parent, was sentenced to 210 years in prison after a retrial on charges of repeatedly sexually assaulting three young boys between 1997 and 2002.

Shissler was convicted in 2002 and was sentenced to 24 years. He was granted a new trial. At one time Shissler was an Episcopal priest.

Bolivia, NORTH CAROLINA

July 16, 2007 - Fround in a story about Frankie Lee Garner who was was sentenced to between 200 and 258 months in prison after pleading guilty two counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and being a habitual felon, there was this about his wife -

Susan J. Gore, 41, a former teacher’s assistant at Bolivia Elementary School, was charged in April 2005 with second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and solicitation to commit a felony. Her case is still pending.

Authorities said Gore, 41, copied material containing sexually explicit images involving a 5-year-old child. The charges were filed after a computer technician hired to work on a personal computer at Gore’s home reported to authorities that it contained child pornography. Gore remains free on $20,000 bond.

Gore's trial date has been scheduled for August.

Granbury, TEXAS

The third north Texas teacher arrested this week.

Story dated July 13, 2007 -
Craig Andrew Simon, 54, a Granbury Middle School teacher, was arrested for child pornography.

He was arrested after he after he posted bail on solicitation of a minor online charges for soliciting sex from what he thought was a minor. In connection with that arrest, they searched his home and found the child pornography.

The other two teachers arrested were: Rowlett High School teacher Robert Rigby on internet sex charges, and Strickland Middle School teacher Lauren Michelle Cosgrove for sexual assault of a child.
TT - LINK for Rigby
TT - LINK for Cosgrove

Seminole, FLORIDA

May 17, 2007 - The student sexually involved with
Daniel Zdrodowski, 29, an assistant music instructor at Seminole High School, refused to testify against him.

Facing 15 years in prison as his trial was about to start, Zdrodowski pleaded no contest to a felony charge of engaging in unlawful sexual activity with a minor.

Zdrodowski faces a negotiated maximum sentence of no more than 5 1/2 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for June 14.

TT - They have to have bands in prisons. So many band teachers are sentenced. If he does the whole 5.5 years, the band could be competitive.

SENTENCED: July 14 - Zdrodowski was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison despite the "Five dozen teachers, parents and students" who asked for leniency.

"I believe those two people fell in love," testified Joyce Ostrom, a 61-year-old elementary school teacher who has known Zdrodowski since he was young. "This is a case where every law doesn't fit every crime."

Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court Judge Nancy Moate Ley was not swayed. She sentenced Zdrodowski to 5 1/2 years in prison. He could have received 15.

"There's is no rule that says you are excused from having sex with a student as long as you are a nice person," said Ley, noting that she often gives talks at schools. "Mr. Zdrodowski, you have betrayed the trust that was placed on you as a teacher."

The St. Petersburg Times headline the student's refusal to testify: "Student refuses to testify against teacher-boyfriend"

The St. Petersburg-Times also editorialized against the sentence, effectively asking for an exemption for Zdrodowski.

Baltimore, MARYLAND

SENTENCED TO 18 MONTHS for sex with a 13-year-old girl.





ARRESTED: Dec 5, 2006 -
Timothy Nicholas Gounaris, 50, was arrested and charged with sexual child abuse charges related to several incidents last December with a former student at Pine Grove Middle School.

The allegations of improper relations with a 13-year-old student arose in January 2006, almost a year ago. Gounaris left the Baltimore county school in July and was hired by the Baltimore City school district in August.

A school spokesman said it was standard practice to get a reference from a teacher’s previous employer, however, the article does not say whether the previous school actually gave such a reference or whether one was actually asked for.

Another story states that "County school officials would not say what led to his resignation, because of confidentiality rules."

UPDATE: A Baltimore Examiner questions the policy as affirmed by Baltimore County Public School’s communication’s staff that they do not share teacher's records with other districts for fear of lawsuits from teachers.

UPDATE Apr 4, 2007 - Gounaris entered an Alford plea [no contest] yesterday to a charge of third-degree sex offense. I n an Alford plea, a defendant doesn't admit guilt but acknowledges the state has enough evidence for a conviction. Prosecutors dropped five other charges, including second-degree rape and perverted practice.

Gounaris will have to register as a sex offender and pay restitution for the girl's medical expenses. A school spokesman said he would be fired. [He resigned in June which makes the firing odd, but it's possible it's a mechanism to notify state credentialing officials. If so, is it mandatory?]

County school officials asked the Maryland State Department of Education to revoke Gounaris’ teaching certificate, and it did — but not before he was hired to teach eighth grade at Chinquapin Middle School in Baltimore.

William Reinhard, a spokesman for the state education department, said the department is trying to come up with a procedure that will ensure that officials are aware of any suspicions uncovered by another school system before they hire a teacher.“We think we have a workable solution,” Reinhard said.

Gounaris will be sentenced in about two months.

SENTENCED July 14, 2007 - Gounaris was sentenced to 18 months in jail - not prison. He'll be eligible for work release in 9 months. The 10 year sentence was suspended. Gounaris will have to register as a sex offender. He must also pay $10,000 restitution for medical expenses the girl has accumulated.

Waterford, MAINE

For pictures of girls as young as 5 years old performing sex acts - a 60-day sentence.






Apr 6, 2007 - Richard Beebe, 68, a volunteer at Waterford Elementary School, was indicted for possession of sexually explicit materials involving minors. He was arrested and released on bond.

State police were contacted Feb. 13 by FBI agents in Portland after an investigator posing online as a single mother of two children under the age of 5 had allegedly conversed with Beebe via Yahoo Messenger.

Police executed a search warrant on Feb. 20, and seized several materials from Beebe's home. These included CDs, floppy discs, a digital camera, and three laptops. Beebe subsequently admitted to having as many as 100 pictures on his computer of girls as young as 5 years old performing sex acts.

Investigators found no pornographic images of students from Waterford Elementary School. Beebe did send a nonpornographic image of a student to the FBI investigator during their conversations.
Full Name: Richard W. Beebe

Apr 20 - Beebe pleaded not guilty.

July 13 - Beebe pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing child pornography. He was sentenced to

serve 60 days of a one-year prison sentence, as well as a two-year probationary period. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.Beebe is forbidden to possess a computer or use the Internet, and will be subject to searches to ensure compliance on that condition. A computer owned by Beebe's wife was not seized by police, but it may be examined during these searches.

He sent a picture of a 9-year-old at the school to the undercover officer.

According to an affidavit by Detective John Hainey of the Maine State Police, he was informed in February that Beebe was under investigation by the Portland office of the FBI.

An investigator posing as a single mother of two young children had been trading instant messages with Beebe.During these online conversations, Beebe stated that he got "very excited" from working around children, and touched his granddaughter's buttocks when her mother was not looking. He denied having child pornography on his computer when asked during the conversations.

Beebe also sent a nonexplicit picture of a 9-year-old girl to the investigator, describing her as one of his favorite girls at the school where he volunteered. The girl was later identified as a student at the Waterford school.

Valley, ALABAMA

July 12, 2007 - Charles Bochette, 45, a Beulah High School job coach, was arrested and charged with first degree sexual abuse after a former student says he fell asleep at Bochette's home and awoke to find the older man laying on top of him.

It appears alcohol may have been involved.

Strongsville, OHIO

July 13, 2007 - Not everyone is thrilled with having a sex offender teacher living next door.

She got three days in jail for sex with the 17-year-old student. It'll be a lot longer than that before her neighbors are going to let her think it's over. TT - Link

St. Louis School Board

July 13, 2007 - If Oakland, California is one of the most dysfunctional school districts in the country, St. Louis is the most laughable.

St. Louis city's elected school board is refusing to cede control of the school system to an appointed board and Friday both sides were back in court.

At issue is who will control the money and write checks. The state decidedthat an appointed special administrative board would run the district. The case is expected to be heard again in September. In the meantime, the judge ruled in favor of the appointed board.

Past TT story on St. Louis school takeover.
Bad Hiring Decisions in St. Louis TT - Link (Williams was finally fired today.)

Marion, KENTUCKY

July 13, 2007 - Amy Hill-Tabor, a kindergarten teacher at Crittenden County Elementary School, was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Sad for the sad state of education, WPSD Channel 6 reported that "If Tabor is convicted she could lose her job." The fact that it isn't a guarantee says a lot.

Alamosa, CALIFORNIA

“I believe that I must send a message to every person who walks in that school as a teacher, as a coach, as a mentor, as whatever it may be, you do not lay a hand on a child," said the judge.

SENTENCED: July 13, 2007 -

Loral “Cassie” Hall, 32, a teacher and coach at Alamosa High School, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 2 years probation on a misdemeanor unlawful sexual contact charge involving a 17-year-old female. In addition, Hall will have to register as a sex offender.

Hall must also submit to genetic marker testing and participate in sex offender treatment.

The judge also prohibited Hall, who previously coached T-ball, from contact with people under age 18. “I specifically prohibit you from coaching,” Gonzales told Hall. “I specifically prohibit you from attending any youth sports activity even as a spectator. You will not be around kids.”

And,

Gonzales added there would be no exceptions to the no-child-contact prohibition including family members such as nieces, nephews and cousins. “You will be that conspicuous absent family member at family gatherings,” Gonzales told Hall. “You will miss the baptisms, you will miss the confirmations, the birthdays, Christmases, the reunions.

The judge also ordered 50 hours community service, substance abuse evaluation, fine, costs and sex offender fees and surcharges and said Hall would pay for counseling if the victim required it.

Raleigh, NORTH CAROLINA

ARRESTED: July 13, 2007 - Scott Hovey, 26, a teacher at Southeast Raleigh High School, was arrested and charged with Internet solicitation of a child for sexual activity.

He has been suspended with pay. $$$
Full Name: Scott Libert Hovey

Police are asking anyone with information contact the Criminal Investigation Division at 336-373-2255 or Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000.

ABC 11 - has a video report on the arrest and community reaction. The best reaction is the woman who says, "There's two there now. Where are we getting those so-called teachers?" She was referring to the former principal of the school, Larry Jewell, who was arrested last February. TT - Link for Jewell

Four Oaks, NORTH CAROLINA

First Reported Mar 1, 2007 -
Cornelius White, 25, a substitute teacher, was arrested for allegedly having sex with a South Johnston County High School student.

Authorities say from September 2006 to February 2007 White had consensual sex on numerous occasions with a 17-year-old female student.
Full Name: Cornelius Lamont White

July 13 - ABC11: White pleaded guilty to two counts of having sex with a student. A judge sentenced him to 60 days in jail, two years probation and he must register as a sex offender.

White was given credit for 44 days in jail before he could post bond, which means he will only have to serve an additional 16 days in custody.

Barron, WISCONSIN

Apr 4, 2007 - Nathan E. Cox, 38, a teacher and coach in the Prairie Farm School District, waived his right to a preliminary and pleaded not guilty. Cox was charged with second-degree sexual assault of a child for sexual assault of a student who was 13-years-old at the time of the alleged offense.

Cox gave a brief statement and then handed in his letter of resignation at the school board meeting on Monday night.

News story Mar 29 - The student accused Cox of being intimate with her while they were in his vehicle near her home in the summer of 2006, according to the criminal complaint. She said the contact included kissing and touching but "not sex."

Update Apr 12 - Cox was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. A pretrial conference is set for May 23 with a jury trial set for June 28.

Update Apr 18 - Cox submitted his resignation to the school board on Monday, April 2.

Update May 31 - Cox pleaded guilty to felony child enticement-sexual contact. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14.

SENTENCED July 13 - Cox was sentenced to one year in prison. The judge said that Cox violated his position of trust and that’s why he needed to go to prison. WEAU: A presentence report suggested three years followed by up to ten years of extensive supervision. Cox apologized to family members, teachers, the community of Prairie Farm, the victim and her family at the sentencing, saying he was completely wrong and foolish for what he did.

TT -The Pierce County Herald headlined the sentencing story as, "Barron teacher sentenced for affair with student" A 38-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl was an "affair"? Who writes their headlines, Harlequin Romance or Pedophiles R Us?

July 18 - Article on the sentencing.

Cox’s father, Edwin Cox of Barron, also a schoolteacher, and Nathan’s wife, Jennifer, asked [Judge Edward] Brunner not to send Nathan to prison. The couple have a 7-year old son and two younger daughters.

The judge had some words on why Nathan should be jailed.

[Judge[ Brunner told Cox that he was lucky to have the support of his family who were asking him to be lenient with Cox.

“But you have to keep in mind that you got yourself here,” Brunner said. Although people make mistakes, Brunner said his definition of a good father and a good husband was not somebody who was soliciting sex from 13-14 year old girls.

Brunner said [Defense Attorney Carol] Conklin had asked him not to call into play that Cox was a teacher. But, he said, if anyone in Cox’s family had been molested by a teacher, they would feel violated because they had trusted that child to a teacher. “It is a fact that this young lady will live with this scar for the rest of her life,” Brunner said. “So I can’t ignore the position that you had. It’s part of the offense. It’s part of who you are.”

Oakland, CALIFORNIA

Only a school district as dysfunctional as Oakland would have allowed someone like this to open a charter school.

July 13, 2007 - Isaac Haqq, the founder and principal of an East Oakland charter high school at the center of a cheating scandal, has resigned. This, after the state Department of Education invalidated the school's test scores for a second straight year due to "adult testing irregularities," or, in other words, cheating. And not by students.

Haqq was once a Pasadena city councilman once known as Isaac Richard. He founded Uprep in 2001. The San Francisco Chronicle understated it when they said he was known for "breaking the rules." (Subhead: Arrests, fights and bare-knuckles politics among hallmarks of Isaac Haqq's history.)

As a Pasadena city councilman in the early 1990s, Isaac Haqq broke someone's nose, swiped campaign signs, threatened the housing chief, berated a women's shelter worker and did three years probation for, among other things, [an arrest for driving without a license] throwing his sunglasses at a bus.

Before his election, Haqq's sister got a temporary restraining order against him, alleging violence. After leaving office, he was arrested on suspicion of hitting a woman with a telephone.

He was censured twice by the Pasadena City Council for "antisocial behavior." There were a half dozen other incidents.

See June 19 - Charter School Crackdown Continues
See June 21 - The Strange Past of Isaac Haaq
See July 2 - Ex-councilman faces accusations
Also see, July 8 - School mired in claims of cheating

TT - After he left Pasadena, he was an affirmative action consultant and a community college instructor teaching business and math.

In 1996, the Oakland School Board became a national laughingstock for their resolution calling for Ebonics. The school board regained some authority this month four years after the state took over the district for financial mismanagement. The state loaned the district $100 MILLION in 2003.

Summary - July 12, 2007

Summary July 12, 2007
Follow links for updated information.

ARRESTED for sex with a 13-year-old boy
Lauren Cosgrove, 28, a Texas teacher was arrested on two counts of aggravated sexual assault to a child. The boy was a former student and she was babysitting the boy and his brothers. The boys reported that the teacher and boy spent a lot of time in a locked bedroom, it turns out - for oral sex on each other. She is married and has two children. The boy told police she was afraid of losing her children if anyone found out about their relationship. Nice burden to put on a child, isn't it? FEMALE
TT - Link

PLEA - no contest to sex with student
San Bruno, California band teacher Adam Albrecht, 29, pleaded no contest to to one felony count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, one felony count of oral copulation with a minor, and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, for providing the 17-year-old girl with alcohol and marijuana. He'll be sentenced in August.
TT - Link

SENTENCED (Again) - Sex with boys
A sixth-grade teacher in Florida was sentenced to 70 years after pleading no contest to 16 counts of sexual offenses against three children during 2003. He pleaded guilty in 2006 to 13 counts of sexual battery and child molestation on a 12-year-old male student and was sentenced to 70 years and lifelong probation. Both sentences to run concurrently for Daniel Cliatt, 29.
TT - Link

SENTENCED - Sex with student
It's bad enough that the victim had to testify, she also had to listen while two teachers testified for the teacher who pleaded no contest to single count of statutory sexual assault for sex with the 15-year-old girl. David Costanza, 28, was sentenced to six whole months and five years' probation. His father was the school board president who resigned when his son was arrested.
TT - Link (Pennsylvania)

FAVORITE STORY OF THE DAY
Is the Oregon elementary school principal who was caught with marijuana who has the "full support" of the district superintendent and, the superintendent claims, the school board. Only problem is that the school district is famous for a 1989 crackdown on "drugs" that includes mandatory testing for athletes. They took that battle to the U.S. Supreme Court. That was then. Now it's "Pot for me, but not for thee." Bless the little children. They got their lesson early on the reality of politics and education in Oregon.
TT - Link

BEST E-MAIL QUOTE OF THE DAY
"I personally believe that this website is ridiculous. Teachers are people too, and everyone makes mistakes. It's not fair to have these stories on here. It on causes unfair judgements to be made." Well, frankly, sir, parents are people too. And they have a right to expect that when they send their children to school, it isn't to learn how to smoke dope and have sex in classroom closets with teachers who are most frequently nearly twice their age. (or more)

CONNECTICUT TO ALLOW CONVICTED DRUG DEALER TO TEACH
The Connecticut Board of Education has decided to reinstate a teacher who was convicted of selling drugs to an undercover police officer. He will be allowed to teach at a school with minority populations (if you can call 54% black and 42% Hispanic "minority populations.") Low-income students or parents don't deserve teachers who are role models, apparently. Or maybe the nearly all-white school board thinks all blacks and hispanics are drug dealers.
TT - Link