Tampa, FLORIDA

Sixth Tampa teacher arrested in six weeks.

April 9, 2008 - Charles Young, 62, a teacher who provided technology support at Pierce Middle School, was arrested after a resource officer found child porn on Young's computer. Young was charged with 60 counts of child pornography, one for each image.

Police obtained a warrant and a search of the computer discovered pictures of male children in lewd positions, as well as pictures of them engaged in sexual activity.

Detectives said Young admitted under questioning to downloading, viewing and masturbating to the child pornography.
Full Name: Charles Russell Young

He has been on paid administrative leave since the investigation started last fall.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office - no online press release yet.

April 10 - Story about the school resource officer, Deputy Edward Perez, a 16-year-veteran of the Hillsborogh County Sheriff's office, who found the pornography on Young's computer. While trying out the new operating system on Young's computer in December, Perez noticed a recently opened file with a title referring to oral sex with a 12-year-old, according to the sheriff's office.

Perez contacted detectives, who interviewed Young and later obtained a warrant to search his computer. It took months to arrest Young because the Florida Department of Law Enforcement needed time to forensically examine the computer.

Annville, PENNSYLVANIA

The judge: "There is not one bit of evidence you ever acted inappropriately."
Well, yeah, except for that rape of the 8-year-old child.

April 9, 2008 -
Stephen A. Spiese, 57, part-time teacher at Lebanon Valley College, was sentenced to one month to one year in Lebanon County prison and 11 years of state probation for viewing child pornography on a college computer.

A female college student witnessed Spiese viewing child pornography on a college computer in the Mund College Center on Nov. 27, 2006, according to a police complaint. He was arrested April 1, 2007 on three counts of child pornography possession.

From PennLive (April 9)

Lebanon County Judge Brad Charles passed sentence on Stephen Spiese, 57, after hearing friends and associates testify they had never seen Spiese act inappropriately with children, including their own. Many of the friends knew Spiese through theater groups with which he has been active for the past 30 years.

Charles noted the lack of any previous criminal record. "There is not one bit of evidence you ever acted inappropriately," he told Spiese.

But Charles said what Spiese did in downloading child pornography was not a victimless crime. "You made it possible for an eight-year old girl to be raped," he said.

Spiese apologized. "I am a very good teacher. Now I will not be able to exercise my skills in the performing arts," he said.
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WHAT WE FOUND
Various articles about his arrest are no longer on line. He is referred to as an "actor" in several postings. One poster was apparently quoting from an article.

It will be the first time Spiese has been onstage since being charged in Lebanon County with three felony counts of sexual abuse of children for possessing more than five dozen pictures, and two movies, of underage boys and girls in sexual scenes.

Spiese, of Columbia, was fired from his job as an adjunct professor at Lebanon Valley College after investigators seized his school computer, which they say he used to download the porn. According to a police affidavit, Spiese did not dispute the allegations and told investigators he had been viewing child pornography for "several years.

Another article by Gil Smart, Lancaster Online Associate Editor starts out this way:

Everyone deserves a second chance, said Gary Smith. "We have human resources we need in this community," said Smith, co-artistic director of the Theater of the Seventh Sister. And when you have a talented artist, who has made a sizable contribution to the local theater community, it m......

TT - And doesn't all this sound like Aspen, Colorado?

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

Legislation Watch

LEGISLATION WATCH

April 9, 2008 - The Illinois House approved a measure that would require school districts to share information about employees who have been the subject of reports to DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services,) which handles child abuse or negligence complaints.

The House voted 114-0 to approve the measure, which now moves to the Senate for further review. At present , school districts might not know a potential teacher has had issues because past employers don’t share it, perhaps for fear of being sued. The new plan would make that disclosure mandatory.

The legislation is House Bill 4252. You can track the bill here.

May 29, 2008 - The bill has passed both houses.
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TT - The bill is in response to the sordid school district actions that shifted child molester Jon White from one elementary school in Normal, IL to another elementary school in Urbana, IL, despite knowing that White had been found viewing pornography in the classroom and despite a parent complaint about his conduct. He was even given a glowing letter of recommendation after he was forced to resign. He went on to molest eight other children in Urbana. TT entry

However, White was never reported to DCFS by school officials in Normal. They were simply too eager to get rid of him. He was sentenced last week to 48 years in prison and is awaiting sentencing in McClean county. At his sentencing hearing for abusing 8 students, one Thomas Payne teacher sent a letter of support for him.

Inver Grove Heights, MINNESOTA

Islamic funamentalist school in Minnesota. Who isn't suprised?

April 9, 2008 - Katherine Kersten, a columnist for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, has been investigating the Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. This is her second article on the school.

The charter school is paid for by taxpayer money. It is, however, a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque and the executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

She spoke to a substitute teacher who described the school routine that is indistinguishable from a religious school. The columnist was refused entry to the school by the Imam. She asks some hard questions, like

Why does the Minnesota Department of Education allow this sort of religious activity at a public school? According to Zaman, the department inspects TIZA regularly -- and has done so "numerous times" -- to ensure that it is not a religious school.
But the department's records document only three site visits to TIZA in five years -- two in 2003-04 and one in 2007, according to Assistant Commissioner Morgan Brown. None of the visits focused specifically on religious practices.

The result of her inquiries is that the Minnesota Department of Education as well as the ACLU are investigating. The Department of Education is contacting the U.S. State Department to find out the status of the Islamic Relief fund.

Inver Grove [Google map] [Wikipedia entry for Inver Grove]
Her first article dated March 9: "Are taxpayers footing bill for Islamic school in Minnesota?"

April 10 - Metro charter school accused of teaching Islam
The Executive Director and Imam at the school thought the substitute who spoke to the newspaper was "sadly mistaken." KSTP Ch 5 reported that

state law requires the school to fly an American flag during school hours, however no flag flies outside of TIZA Academy.

Zaman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he didn’t know how to work the flagpole.

Be sure to watch their video report and don't miss the statements by the Executive Director.

Jacksonville, FLORIDA

April 9, 2008 - William Tinsley, IV, 28, a teacher at Lighthouse Christian Academy, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with sexual battery on a 17-year-old student. The arrest came as part of an ongoing investigation by the state attorney's office.

The girl says that Tinsley wanted her to watch R-rated movie called "Boogie Nights," which is about the pornography industry. Police said Tinsley's MySpace screen name is "Diggler," which is the name of porn stars in the movie.

According to the police report, she agreed to go to his house on Fort Caroline Road on Oct. 12. She said he asked her to smoke from a hookah pipe and drink alcohol, but she said she declined both. She said she kissed him while they were on the couch and he led her to his bedroom, where they took each other's clothes off.

She said he fondled her genitals, but she declined oral sex. She acknowledged to detectives that it was "weird" that the sex never progressed further. She told investigators she would have told her mother if they had actually had sex.

According to the police report, the victim's cell phone records and her description of the interior of his home were consistent with the details she gave investigators.
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Photo courtesy of Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Jacksonville is in Duval County.
Duval District teacher license discipline records from Florida Dept. of Education.
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PREVIOUS ACCUSATIONS April 11 - Duval administrators admitted that Tinsley had a similar problem at a public school three years ago. Tinsley worked with the Duval County School District in 2005, and Duval administrators have said they fired him over "similar accusations." He was a probationary employee.

Duval County School District reported him to the Florida Department of Education. However, DOE said there had been no probable cause to take action against Tinsley's license.

When he applied to the private school, Tinsley did not tell them that he was fired, and neither did Duval administrators.

DEFENSE MOTION September 25 - Tinsley's defense attorney has filed a motion to have the charges dropped, contending that even if Tinsley was found to have had sexual contact with the girl, since the incident allegedly happened at the teacher's home on a weekend, Tinsley had no custodial authority over the teenager.

"The statute does not cover it, and the Florida Supreme Court has said the teacher is not the custodian of the child when the child is off the campus and not involved in school activities," defense attorney Curtis Fallgatter said.

Prosecutors argue that the law does apply in this case since, as a teacher, Tinsley had authority over the child even if it was not at school.

TT - It's a bizarre motion since sexual contact with a teacher is usually presumed to take place off campus and not in the school cafeteria.

Trust Us

TRUST US with your children.

April 9, 2008 - Three elementary schools in Delaware allowed a con artist to send fliers home with students advertising chess lessons to be held at the school. None of the three schools conducted a background check on Christopher Hackford, 21.

Hackford approached the schools about sending fliers home with their students and about using a classroom for his chess program. School officials required him to fill out a facility use form to use a classroom -- at no cost. They did not require him to get a background check.

It turned out that it was a scam that netted Kaplan $3600 that he got from parents for lessons. He only showed up for the first lesson in all three schools. Hackford -- who has larceny charges pending against him related to October 2007 thefts at several Lowe's stores in Massachusetts -- was arrested in February in Massachusetts on charges that he ran chess scams there.

Amazingly, state law mandates any vendor who goes into a school during the academic day or for a school function and has direct access to children without a teacher present get a criminal background check. State law leaves it up to districts whether to require a background check for a vendor who comes into the building outside of the school day.
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TT- Volunteers in most school and sport programs are required to have background and criminal checks. Why would schools grant access to children without any vetting whatsoever? These were children from K to fifth grade and he could have been a sexual predator.

Frisco, TEXAS

It isn't just bad judgement or lack of boundaries. It's arrogance and elitism that makes teachers think that they, not parents, can make such decisions.

April 9, 2008 - Brandy Jumper, 33, a Frisco High School teacher is on paid administrative leave while the school investigates an accusation that she took a 17-year-old male student to get a tattoo.

State health codes prohibit a minor from getting a tattoo, even with parental permission, unless the tattoo is designed to cover up another tattoo deemed to be offensive by the parent or a court. State health officials are investigating the home where the boy got the tattoo.

Shreveport, LOUISIANA

Headline reads: "Former Lincoln Parish Teacher of the Year indicted on six counts indecent behavior with a juvenile"

Jan 2008 - Pleads guilty.
April 2008 - Sentenced to 18 years in jail - not prison, 10 years suspended, and 10 years probation.

Jan 30, 2007 - Philip Cardwell, 55, an English teacher at Simsboro High School, resigned as a result of the investigation by the sheriff’s office of misconduct involving an English teacher and four [male] juveniles. No other details available.

INDICTED Mar 6 - Cardwell was indicted on on six counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile and one count of distribution of material harmful to minors. Cardwell was out of town and will be arrested when he returns to Ruston later this week, Lincoln Sheriff Mike Stone said.

"It has been a thorough and fair investigation that included the seizure of 10 computers and the execution of over 20 search warrants and subpoenas over a one-month period," Stone said in a prepared statement.

INDICTMENT Mar 7 - The indictment states that each charge involves a person being more than 17 years old, who did, "with the intention of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of either person, transmit electronic textual communications depicting lewd or lascivious text to a person believed to be under the age of 17 ."

The indictment refers to the victims as juvenile male, John Doe No. 1 or John Doe No. 2, who was under the age of 17.

NOT GUILTY PLEA Apr 11 - Cardwell pleaded not guilty. He is scheduled for a pretrial conference June 12. He resigned in late January shortly after the investigation began.

Nov 13 - Cardwell is due in court today for a conference hearing. Unless he pleads, a trial date will be set.

GUILTY PLEA Jan 8, 2008 - Cardwell pleaded guilty to six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and one misdemeanor count of distribution of material harmful to a juvenile. He will be sentenced in March.

SENTENCED April 9 - Lincoln District Judge R. Wayne Smith sentenced Cardwell to 18 months in jail - not prison. In addition, Cardwell received 10 years suspended and 10 years of probation. The judge ordered Cardwell to enroll in sexual illness treatment and mandated he be subject to random polygraph tests and GPS monitoring by his probation officer.

The judge gave Cardwell a blistering lecture that Cardwell declined to have read in court.

According to the sentencing, Cardwell hired a psychologist who reported to the court that Cardwell is confused about his sexual identity and identifies himself as bisexual. He said Cardwell did not view his relationship with the boys as sexual in nature and claimed Cardwell "had not yet crossed the line of being a sexual predator."

The argument is one Smith apparently rejected."The court is of the firm opinion that to characterize the chats between Cardwell and the boys as merely being coarse or crude or lack of judgment or immature behavior or male bonding or horseplay is not accurate," he wrote. "The behavior crossed the barriers of morality and decency. The behavior violated the law. These students were victims of crimes perpetrated upon them by Cardwell."

Cardwell has garnered significant support from the community. The felony charges stemmed from two camping trips between August of 2006 and January of 2007, where he took pictures of several male students naked and posted them on the internet. Since Cardwell pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenilewill not have to register as a sex offender.

Palm Harbor, FLORIDA

So far in 2008, this is the fourth case of an inappropriate relationship between a student and an adult at their school to be reported in the Bay area.

April 8, 2008 - Ryan Wilborn, 22, a volunteer assistant band coach for Palm Harbor University High School was arrested Monday on charges that he had sex with one band member on several occasions and inappropriately touched another band member. Both girls were 15 at the time. Police arrested Wilborn after one of the girls’ parents went to police.

Wilborn discussed the sex in a phone call that was being monitored by sheriff's investigators, the affidavit states.

Full Name: Ryan Christopher Wilborn

Police suspect there may be more victims. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Brad Carrozza of the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office's Crimes Against Children Unit at (727) 582-6200

ARRESTED (Again) August 19 - Wilborn was arrested on a charge of Certain Use of Computer Services Prohibited after they say he tried to meet someone he thought was an underage teen. Detectives received a tip in July that Wilborn was communicating with minors on the Internet, the sheriff's office said. An undercover detective assumed the persona of a 16-year-old girl online and began chatting with Wilborn, who engaged in a sexually explicit conversation.

A meeting with the "teen" was arranged and Wilborn went to a location in north Pinellas County with the purpose of engaging in a sexual act, detectives said.

Weston, FLORIDA

April 9, 2008 - David Layman, 35, a teacher at the Imagine Charter School, was arrested, accused of fondling a 7-year-old boy during a private piano lesson last month.

Layman is charged with lewd or lascivious molestation and lewd or lascivious conduct and is being held in the Broward County Main Jail without bail. Deputies contacted Layman on March 27 and told him about the accusations. He cooperated with deputies throughout the investigation and was arrested when he met with investigators. The charter school suspended Layman on March 28.

Authorities are asking anyone who may know of additional victims to contact Broward Sheriff's Sex Crime Detective Carol Dansky at 954-321-4240 or call Broward Crime Stoppers, anonymously, at 954-493-TIPS (8477).

Palm Beach, FLORIDA

It would be laughable if it wasn't so disgusting.

April 8, 2008 - Robert Dow, 63, the newly-elected president of the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association , acknowledged Tuesday he was arrested 17 years ago in Los Angeles and accused of running a swingers club, but the charges were dropped. The charges were dropped because a judge ruled that police had an illegal search warrant.

Following an undercover investigation, police raided the couple's home and found 30 people inside, including some who were not clothed, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.

The story quoted a police officer who said there were rooms with signs designating them for group sex and others reserved for one couple at a time. People attending parties at the house were charged $50, police said. In an interview Tuesday, Dow denied charging admission.

Dow later sued the city for slander, invasion of privacy and unlawful prosecution. Although the city did not admit fault, it eventually agreed to a financial settlement, he said.

This is the best part:

It's a juicy story unless you actually look into it," Dow said. "If you look at the private activities that took place, some people might not like them, but they're not illegal. It was nobody's business. We met with other people with similar mind-sets to talk about sexual ideas and so forth. Some people engaged in sexual activities. Why would anyone else have an interest in that?"

Dow is a Western Pines middle school teacher.

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel (April 9) -

"Is it true that we were engaged in activity that some people consider odd? We absolutely were," Dow said in a telephone interview Tuesday, fresh off his upset, union election victory against incumbent President Theo Harris.

And,

A Los Angeles city attorney's 1991 news release alleged that the "club" provided its patrons with condoms, sexual lubricants and towels, as well as access to rooms designated for group sex, according to the Times. Undercover male and female vice officers posing as a "swinging couple" raided the four-bedroom house, the newspaper reported.

Muskegon, MICHIGAN

Dec 21, 2007 - A teacher who was arrested for stealing money from the school's orchestra parents organization has been allowed to retire.

Helen Rosanna Hayes, 54, an orchestra teacher at Muskegon High School, was arraigned on a felony charge of uttering and publishing. (See Wikipedia entry for uttering and publishing for definition.) Muskegon police said she allegedly stole $1,650 over several months, beginning in November of 2006. . She has been on paid leave for two months. The school board allowed her to retire

A Preliminary examination is scheduled for Dec. 28.

GUILTY PLEA Feb 22, 2008 - Hayes pleaded guilty has pleaded guilty as charged to felony check fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for April 8. Muskegon County Circuit Judge William C. Marietti agreed at no more than 90 days in jail, with a sentence of probation on electronic tether if she pays full restitution before sentencing.

SENTENCED (sorta) April 8 - Having paid full restitution, Hayes was sentenced to two days in jail, already served; a year on probation, with the first 88 days to be spent on tether; 50 hours of community service; and $570 in fines and costs, plus $10 per month probation oversight fee.

Sentenced by 14th Circuit Judge William C. Marietti

Fayetteville, NORTH CAROLINA

ARRESTED April 18, 2007 -
Matthew King, 26, a teacher at Gray's Creek High School, was arrested and charged with taking indecent liberties with a student.

He is accused of having a sexual relationship with a student who is reported to be age 18. King submitted his resignation Thursday afternoon.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING (SORTA) April 8 - King pleaded guilty to felony crime against nature and misdemeanor solicitation for crime against nature for having a relationship with a student last year. The student did not cooperate with authorities.

Superior Court Judge E. Lynn Johnson indefinitely postponed final judgment on the felony. This means King is not being punished for it unless prosecutors choose to bring the case back to court. For the misdemeanor, Johnson gave King 18 months of probation, a $250 fine plus court costs and 24 hours of community service.

Age of consent in North Carolina is 16. It’s a felony for a teacher and a student enrolled at the same school to engage in immoral, improper or indecent activities to cause or satisfy sexual arousal.

Omaha, NEBRASKA

Can't arrest him. It wasn't illegal.

April 8, 2008 - An unidentified Millard Public Schools business teacher resigned last Thursday. Police say the teacher, when questioned, reportedly admitted to sending anonymous text messages and paying the male students for pictures of their abdomens, chest and biceps.

According to Police the teacher would tell students where they could pick up money after he received the pictures. One time, he reportedly wrapped $50 in tin foil and left it at Beadle Middle School. The teenage boys thought the messages were coming from females at the school.

The school resource officer got a tip three weeks ago. Investigators found pictures on the male teacher's school computer, but they not were pornographic and not illegal.

Columbia, PENNSYLVANIA

April 8, 2008 - Robert Richards, 33, band director at Columbia Junior/Senior High School was arrested Monday at the school district administration office for allegedly having an ongoing sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student during the past year.

Richards was charged by police in Columbia and police in West Hempfield Township with a total of two counts each of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and corruption of minors, as well as one count each of statutory sexual assault and aggravated indecent assault.

The investigation began when police became aware of rumors at the school. Richards and the girl had one sexual encounter at the school and the rest in his home, where he lives with his wife and two school-aged children.

Richards was in his third year at Columbia. He is now out on $175,000 bail. The school district said he is on paid leave.
Full Name: Robert E. Richards

Richards is the third Lancaster County band director to be arrested recently on allegations of having sexual encounters with teenage girls, according to newspaper records. Warwick High School's former band director, Todd Sheerer, was arrested in January, and Michael Wolf of Landisville, who was the band director at Lebanon County's Cedar Crest High School was convicted of charges in December 2006. Wolf was sentenced to 3½ to 15 years in state prison for sexually assaulting two students, ages 16 and 17. TT Entry for Sheerer

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY (From LancasterOnline): A graduate of James Madison University with a bachelor's degree in music education, Richards previously served as director of bands for three years at Varina High School in Richmond, Va., according to the Columbia school Web site.He then moved to Lancaster County, working as a project coordinator for a private company for three years. At the same time, he was also writing and arranging marching band shows for schools in Virginia and Pennsylvania, according to the Web site.
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Greatschools.net rating for the school is 3 See test scores.
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PRELIMINARY WAIVED June 19 - Wednesday afternoon, Richards waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was ordered to stand trial by District Judge Robert Herman.

Tampa, FLORIDA

NAMES IN THE NEWS -

FLORIDA Apil 8, 2008 - Today a Florida judge decided that skank Debra Lafave can be released from house arrest three months early. Assistant State Attorney Mike Sinicore strongly objected to Lafave's house arrest being ended early. "This is a very egregious offense," Sinicore said. "There's absolutely no reason for you to mitigate this sentence at all."

The judge's name is J. Rogers Padgett. (pictured right)
Thirteenth Judicial Circuit; Hillsborough County Courthouse; Tampa, FL

Other Tampa, Florida teachers arrested since last November for sex with their students. TT entry

Pinellas District teachers Discipline Records from the Florida Department of Education.
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PENNSYLVANIA April 9, 2008 - Lebanon County (PA) Judge Bradford H. Charles sentenced Stephen A. Spiese, 57, a part-time teacher at Lebanon Valley College and actor, for child pornography. Spiese admitted that he has viewed child pornography for years.

After acknowledging letters of support for Charles, mostly from the artistic community, the judge noted the lack of any previous criminal record. "There is not one bit of evidence you ever acted inappropriately," he told Spiese.

But Charles said what Spiese did in downloading child pornography was not a victimless crime. "You made it possible for an eight-year old girl to be raped," he said.

Outrageously, Charles then sentenced Spiese to one month to one year in Lebanon County prison and 11 years of state probation. TT - entry

The video where the 8-year-old is raped depicts more than 75 girls and boys, some as young as about 1, being raped or forced to perform sexual acts with adults.

Judge Bradford H. Charles
52nd Judicial District of Pennsylvania
Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas link
No biographical information or picture available.

Iowa

Someone is funding this legal circus and we bet it isn't the teacher.

Geronimo, OKLAHOMA

Sentenced (sorta) to five years in prison, but will only serve 30 days, and those will be on weekends. Go figure.

April 7, 2008 - Regina McKay, 33, a Geronimo High School teacher, pleaded no contest to the second degree rape of a 17-year-old in 2006.

She was accused by one of her students of giving him cigarettes and alcohol to go to her home in Walters and have sex with her. The Cotton County DA says McKay received a sentence of five years in prison, but she will serve only 30 days, and those will be on weekends.

McKay will be on probation for two years and must pay a $1,000 fine in addition to court costs. She will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of her life**, and will be required to confirm her address every three months. McKay will be permitted to be with children only when there is adult supervision, however she will be allowed to attend her children's school functions.

** registration for life was included in video report at news site.

She will also have to surrender her Oklahoma teacher's license by this Friday. She also must attend professional counseling for the next year.

Queens, NEW YORIK

Feb 25, 2008 -
Bradley Dieffenbacher, 32, a math teacher at M.S. 190Q, has been arrested and charged with allegedly having inappropriate online relationships with eight of his 12 and 13-year-old male students.

The Queens district attorney charges the 32-year-old had sexually explicit conversations with the boys over instant messenger several times since April. He is also alleged to have directed them to pornographic websites and used a webcam to watch one of the boys masturbate.

Dieffenbacher resigned on February 14 after being questioned by investigators. He had been an employee of the Department of Education since 2000.

ARRAIGNED He was arraigned on charges of one count of Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance, three counts of Attempted Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance, one count of Promoting a Sexual Performance by a Child, three counts of Attempted Promoting of a Sexual Performance by a Child and eight counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

District Attorney Queens Office Press Release (dated Feb 25, 2008)

Times-Ledger (Feb 28) - According to comments left on Dieffenbacher's MySpace page by some of his students asking where he was, why he was not in school and when he would be coming back, the children were not told the reason for his absence or that he would not be returning to school.

ONLINE COMMENTS Daily-News (Mar 4) - The newspaper is still following online comments about Dieffenbacher who also had Web profiles on Facebook and Xanga.

Online conversations months earlier seemed to fit the claims by law enforcement officials. In one 90-minute chat with a student still available online, Dieffenbacher alludes to masturbation. The conversations that landed Dieffenbacher in trouble occurred between April 1, 2007, and Feb. 20, and were directed at eighth-graders, authorities said.

GUILTY PLEA April 7 - Dieffenbacher pleaded guilty to attempted use of a child in a sexual performance. Prosecutors say that as part of a plea agreement, 32-year-old Bradley Dieffenbacher will give up his teaching license and register as a sex offender.

He is expected to be sentenced June 16 to six months in jail - not prison - and 4 1/2 years of probation.

Seattle, WASHINGTON

LAWSUIT

April 7, 2008 - Seattle Public Schools agreed to pay $3.05 million to victims of an elementary-school teacher who molested students over his 30 years teaching for the district.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of two victims accused the district and a former principal of ignoring complaints about Laurence E. "Shayne" Hill for years. According to charging papers, at least three school administrators or principals had previously talked to Hill about inappropriately touching students.

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (April 7):

School district spokeswoman Patty Spencer says the district accepts responsibility for the actions of its former employee. She adds that the district revised its training in 2006 for working with students, including guidelines for reporting misconduct to outside authorities.

According to court documents, Hill's misconduct spanned nearly 20 years, with least 15 teachers and staff reporting inappropriate behavior to successive school administrators.

Seattle Times (April 8) - Three principals and even the superintendent ignored 30 reports from at least 15 other teachers about Hill, according to the lawsuit. The settlement is paid out of a risk-management pool that operates like an insurance policy for the district.

Post-Intelligencer (April 8) - Two of the school administrators accused of failing to act on warnings about Hill are still employed by the school district. District spokeswoman Patti Spencer would not comment on whether any administrators had been disciplined in relation to the case.

Terri Skjei, a former assistant principal and principal at Broadview-Thomson who was named a defendant in the lawsuit, is now principal at Viewridge Elementary. Jeanne Smart became principal at Broadview-Thomson about a year before Hill was caught and remains at the school.

KOMOTv: Seattle Public Schools to pay $3M in sex abuse case
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TT entry for Hill

RANT OF THE DAY
TT - School districts and their insurance carriers don't settle lawsuits because they are generous and good-hearted. They settle because of wrongdoing that is covered up by non-disclosure agreements in lawsuits that prevent public disclosure. The result is that those responsible are never brought to public view and their actions are never publicly admitted. The result is that no laws are ever passed that guarantee it won't happen again.

Hill sexually exploited children for thirty years and three school administrators or principals talked to him but chose to leave him in the classroom to molest other children.

The question is why. The answer is simple: because they could and because they, like many educators, think that they, personally, are above the law and in schools, they are the law. No law written by your elected representative to protect you and your child should be willfully ignored by educrats. No decency should be ignored. No school administrator or principal should be shielded from personal lawsuits that strip them of their life savings, their homes, their retirements and their role in a community when they choose convenience or personal power over responsibility and decency.

Camden, NEW JERSEY

Bizzaro thinking.

April 7, 2008 - Editorial from the Courier-Post (Cherry Hill, NJ) - "from South Jersey to you"- a Gannett-owned (USA Today) newspaper:

Responding to concerns of Hispanic parents and leaders, the state Department of Education has intervened in the controversial reassignment of a Camden school vice principal.

Former Sumner Elementary Vice Principal Theresa Brown is accused of forcing Hispanic children to eat their lunch on the floor for two weeks. It allegedly was punishment for one of the students spilling a large container of water on a classroom floor. Accidents happen. Yet, even if the water was purposely spilled, there is no justification for the humiliating consequence meted out to the elementary students.

The students' understandably outraged parents claim their children were treated inhumanely because they are Hispanic and Brown is African American. This allegation cannot be dismissed without further investigation.

Racism by anyone, especially a school leader, cannot be ignored. It must be confronted and excised from the classroom, school and district.

As an African American, it is inconceivable that Brown would inflict the kind of emotional damage on children that she herself might have experienced. Camden school board members are obligated to protect students from such behavior. They should have made public any investigation they completed. If Brown did make those children eat on the floor, the board should have acted to fire her, not transfer her to the East Camden Middle School where she will continue to be an authority figure.

We urge state education officials to be transparent in their investigation and to demonstrate the leadership the Camden school board has failed to show.

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TT - To begin with, the assistant principal, Teresa Brown, unless she is over the age of 70, is unlikely to have ever experienced such treatment simply because she is black. And even then, the likelihood would be highest in Little Rock, Arkansas, Bill Clinton's home state. It's a ridiculous assertion. It's equally ridiculous to assert that her actions were anything more than bad judgement. Calling it "racism" is typical media agitation. No one is more color conscious or race bigotted than the media in their blind assertion that everyone, except themselves, are racists.

The woman showed poor judgement. Period. Pitting one group of citizens against another is good for dramatic effect, but the losers are usually the minority groups manipulated for the sheer thrill of causing a controversy.

Considering the lousy academic performance that has resulted in the state takeover and/or state watch of nearly a half dozen school districts in New Jersey - including Camden - for poor academic performance, the fraud, and the corruption found in New Jersey schools and government, not to mention, problem teachers, the manufactured outrage by the newspaper is transparent and pathetic.

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.

Austin, TEXAS

April 4, 2008

To the Akins High School Community:

I need to advise you that an arrest warrant was issued today for one of our faculty members, Mr. Randy Arias, on charges of having an improper relationship with one of our students. As a result of the arrest warrant, Mr. Randy Arias was promptly placed on administrative leave, while AISD Police continue to investigate.

We have no reason to believe that Mr. Arias has had an improper relationship with any other Akins student.

The case is now pending with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office. Because the matter is now a criminal investigation, and because the student involved is a minor, there is not a great deal more information that I can provide at this time.

As always, I greatly appreciate your support of Akins High School. This is both a very serious and an embarrassing situation for Akins High School, but should not, in any way, reflect negatively on the hard work and dedication that our students and staff exhibit every day. The Akins’ student body and faculty are working hard to conclude this academic year on a rewarding, productive note.

Any time that I can be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at 841-9900.

Sincerely,

Daniel Girard Principal, Akins High School

- From news story of the arrest of Randy Arias, 27, Spanish teacher at the South Austin campus. He is now on administrative leave during the investigation .Full Name: Ranulfo "Randy" Arias

NEW TWIST April 8 - The girl's mother accompanied Arias and the 17-year-old girl to apply for a Travis County marriage license Thursday.

He went to buy a marriage license with the teen and her mother just before police issued a warrant for his arrest, according to court documents. According to an affidavit, Arias' relationship the student began in early March 2008. The documents say he asked the teen out to the movies, and then took her back to his apartment where they had sex. They went out on several more Saturdays.

Texarcana, ARKANSAS

April 4, 2008 - Brenda Fant, 31, a special education teacher at Arkansas High School, was arrested on a charge of first-degree sexual assault of a 17-year old male.

She was suspended with pay.

Full Name: Brenda Shellene “Shelly” Fant AKA Shelly Fant
No futher information available.

RESIGNATION April 21 - She is accused of performing sexual acts with a 17-year-old student off campus in December of 2007, according to a police report. Fant resigned from the Texarkana School District last week.

Arraignment is scheduled for May 29.

Police became aware of the allegations when a former Arkansas High School teacher provided a written statement to [Superintendent Russell] Sapaugh.

The former teacher said Fant told her about what took place with the student. The former teacher also took photographs of Fant’s bruised arms because “the student had possibly physically assaulted” Fant, according to investigative records.

TT - Yet they arrested her.

Uniontown, PENNSYLVANIA

Feb 2, 2008 - Marlin Sprouts, 60, a substitute teacher and new city councilman, was charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a mortgage fraud scheme run by his daughter.

The daughter, Tiffany Lynn Sprouts, opened a brokerage firm several years ago and forged loan applications, tax returns and appraisals to help straw purchasers get more than $2.4 million in loans, authorities say. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy and money laundering in federal court in September and is awaiting sentencing.

Sprouts took office in January. [Nomination secured May 16, 2007 story.]

The Pittsburg Tribune-Review describes Sprouts as a councilman "who is trying to clean up the troubled city's finances." Near the bottom of the article is this:

Tiffany Sprouts pleaded guilty to the charges last September. According to a plea agreement, she agreed to provide information against her father and four other people allegedly involved in the scheme who have not been charged.

Feb 2 - WPXL:Newly- elected Uniontown Mayor Ed Fike said Sprouts was recently named director of accounts and finances, according to WPXI.

Feb 2 - From heraldstandard.com -

The arrest comes days after Sprouts announced that the city is in "deep, deep" financial trouble, with a general fund deficit of $1.2 million.

Sprouts worked for a utility company and in mills before he received an education degree from California University of Pennsylvania last year. He works as a substitute teacher in the Uniontown Area School District.

Sprouts said last year that he decided to enter the race for council after he brought a problem with property he owns to City Hall and received no help.

GUILTY PLEA April 4 - Sprouts pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. Prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Marlin Sprouts that includes 18 to 24 months incarceration as well as between $200,000 and $400,000 in fines and restitution.Conway said Marlin Sprouts also has agreed to cooperate with officials regarding further investigation of the scheme.

Marlin Sprouts testified that he was a willing participant in the scheme and told the court that his life has been adversely affected by the decision. He noted that in addition to losing his job as a schoolteacher in the Uniontown Area School District, recent media attention also cost him his job at a retail business in Uniontown.

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Apr 4): The scam cheated financial institutions out of $1 million to $2.5 million through fraudulent loans, though Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan Conway said Sprouts was responsible for only a fraction of that.

He will be sentenced July 10.

Yrkea, CALIFORNIA

A wanna-be teacher was arrested for forgery. She claimed to be a teacher in California and in Washington. One of the documents containing Schwarzenegger’s signature was dated before he became governor.

April 5, 2008 - Jennifer Lynne Hansen, 25, is a part-time physical education teacher at a Siskiyou County elementary school. Well, was, before she was booked and arraigned in Superior Court on a series of felony charges - forgery, falsification of public seals, providing deceptive identification documents and offering false or forged instruments to be filed or recorded.

Hansen attended college in Washington, but she did not graduate and did not have a teaching credential from either state. The Office of Education noticed the errors and descrepancies -- in December.

Kermith R. Walters, superintendent of the Office of Education, said Thursday that Hansen is no longer teaching.
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A poster at the story wryly noted:

How do you forge Schwarzenegger?
I can barely spell it.
Maybe Arnie will terminateher.

Monroe, GEORGIA

INDICTED

ARRESTED Feb 14, 2007 -
Ronald James, 56, a literature teacher at the Walton County Alternative School, was arrested on a charge of sexual exploitation of children.

Authorities say a tip to the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children was forwarded to the Georgia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Agents searched James' home and found images of child pornography. They seized three computers, several hard drives and computer disks.

INDICTED April 5, 2008 - Grand jury indicts former teacher for operating child porn ring
A grand jury charged James with more than two dozen counts of child exploitation, and prosecutors plan to ask for charges against a local former journalist.. James was indicted on 26 counts of exploiting children after a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe last year revealed the former Walton County teacher's computer held thousands of video and still images of children.
Full Name: Ronald Malcus James

From the Athens Banner (April 5) - Also arrested the same day in 2007 was Elton Felix Manzione, 62, (left) a former journalist who also allegedly had child porn in his computer. (Including pictures of an infant who was assaulted, according to a 2007 arrest story in the Savannah Morning News.) Manzione wrote for The Observer, a defunct Athens weekly newspaper, and once worked as a part-time English instructor at the University of Georgia.

Prosecutors expect to present his case to the grand jury soon.

MANZIONE INDICTED May 23 - The Clarke County grand jury this week indicted Elton Manzione (shown left) on 20 counts of sexual exploitation.

Indictment PDF (Caution: strong visual descriptions)

Lenape, NEW JERSEY

Sentenced in 2001 to probation for smoking marijuana with students pleads guilty to distribution of Ecstasy. Sentenced to six and a half years.

Jan 14, 2008 - Adrian L. Matthew, 36, a former Lenape High School basketball coach, pleaded guilty to distribution in December 2006 of 70 Ecstasy pills to an undercover detective. A total of 150 Ecstasy pills were found in Matthew’s possession at the time of his arrest.

Matthew was in the middle of his first year as a physical education teacher and varsity basketball coach at Lenape High School in Medford when he was charged with smoking marijuana with four students in his home before a game against Cherry Hill High School East in February 2001.

He pleaded guilty in July 2001 to distribution of a controlled dangerous substance, possession of Ecstasy, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child.

He was sentenced to three years of probation and 100 hours of community service for those charges. He'll be sentenced on the ecstacy distribution charge on March 20.

SENTENCED April 5, 2008 - Matthew was sentenced to six and a half years in state prison Friday for his second drug conviction since 2001. Under the terms of a plea agreement, he will have to serve 39 months of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

Matthews admitted to selling 70 Ecstasy pills for $900 to an undercover agent on Dec. 8, 2007 in a Mount Laurel parking lot. Defense lawyer John Dintino said his client was not trying to make money off the drug and was supporting a habit he had for sometime.

Matthews told the judge he was under pressure as a black man of some status in his hometown of Moores-town, where he was a standout athlete.

Pasadena, CALIFORNIA

Love triangle murder. Skateboard getaway. Remember when school used to be reading, writing and arithmetic? Now it's a case for Forensic Files.

April 4, 2008 - Brandon Landreth, 30, a history teacher at John Muir High School, was arrested and being being held as the prime suspect in the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old man at a hillside home in Arcadia earlier this week. He was booked on suspicion of murder.

Authorities would not say what led them to Landreth, nor would they discuss a possible motive for the slaying of Justo Cesar Morales, who was found shot in his parents' Canyon Road home in northern Arcadia on Sunday.

Sargeant Dean Caputo of the Arcadia Police department said that Landreth apparently "held a grudge against Mr. Morales who had dated his ex-wife." Landreth is being held on $2.05 million bail. He will be arraigned April 17.
Full Name: Brandon Michael Landreth

ABC7 news report is bizarre.

"Mr. Morales was dating a woman apparently a couple of years ago. She was separated from her husband; her husband apparently carried this grudge. He drove up to the location where Mr. Morales lives, on Sunday -- actually rode up on a skateboard from his car -- shot Mr. Morales a number of times in the doorway of his home, and then rode a skateboard back to his car and drove off," said Arcadia Police Sgt. Dean Caputo.

TT - Location is always school. Landreth reportedly lives in Monrovia.

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Inmate Information entry

NOT GUILTY PLEA April 17 - At his arraignment Ladreth pleaded not guilty. Court documents state that Landreth had confessed to his ex-wife that he shot Morales, according to police and court documents. Another witness who came forward, a friend of Landreth's, said the suspect also confessed to him that he killed Morales, Caputo said. That witness described details of the shooting scene that were known only to investigators.

An eyewitness saw a silver Volkswagon at the time of the murder. That is also the color and make of Landreth's car.

NO BAIL Investigators wanted an increase in bail, citing items found in his car when he was stopped three days after the murder. The items included camping gear, a backpack full of clothing and other articles, and $9,000 in cash Landreth had withdrawn from his bank. The judge ordered him held without bail.

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NO CONTEST PLEA Jan 31, 2001 -

On Jan. 14, Landreth pleaded no contest to the charges of murder in the first degree and committing a crime with a deadly weapon. The Risdons agreed to the no-contest plea, which came with a minimum prison sentence of 32½ years without the possibility of parole.

A sentencing and restitution hearing is scheduled for Feb. 22 at the Pasadena Courthouse.

Zero tolerance

EDITORIAL and our own two cents.

April 4, 2008 - "Zero tolerance for teachers" is the title of an editorial by the Daily Vidette Editorial Board.

The editorial is in reaction to the testimony at the sentencing of Jon White, the Urbana, Illinois, second-grade teacher convicted of unspeakable, filthy "games" with elementary school children. Unbelievably, the assistant school superintendent at another school testified that White had been suspended "briefly" for pornographic material found on his school computer. White had used a credit card at the school to purchase access to the sites.

Zero tolerance rules are a curious thing. Stories of first and second graders accidentally carrying nail clippers or plastic water pistols being suspended from school are not uncommon.

So why is it that an adult, trusted with being around and interacting with first and second graders, is given the benefit of the doubt when he knowingly and purposely visits pornographic sites?

It would seem this situation is the perfect example of where a zero tolerance policy is necessary. If a teacher shows an inability to resist sexual desire when he or she is in the classroom, this is grounds for removal.

It is impossible for White to receive a fair punishment for his blatant and inhuman disregard for both the trust society placed in him, and for the children who looked to him as an educator.And to think it could have been avoided.

TT - READ the whole thing. It's very thoughtful.

TT - entry for White
White pleaded guilty to charges in Urbana, Illinois. He faces charges in Normal, Illinois, the same district where he was suspended for pornography on his computer. There were plenty of warning signs, all ignored and not shared by the schools. White taught first grade at Colene Hoose Elementary in Normal from 2003 to 2005. During his suspension in November 2004, the district investigated two separate incidents of inappropriate behavior. White was allowed to continue teaching the rest of the school year, and then he was forced to resign.

Think about it: a teacher viewing pornography on his school computer, investigated for TWO separate incidents of inappropriate behavior and then allowed to resign and teach in another school district where eight more children were molested. Eight children who could have been spared the "tasting game" where they were blindfolded.

Lawsuits won't punish school officials who are responsible for this travesty. They should be fired outright for their neglect. Both the officials who saw viewing pornography in a classroom full of small children as a minor transgression and then failed to tell school administrators in another town about that problem and their investigation and suspicions, and the school authorities in Urbana who left White in the classroom even after being informed about the "games "-- all of them should be fired and their licenses revoked.

If a mother hadn't persisted and spoken to the wife of a police officer about the "tasting game," White still might be in a classroom somewhere. The mother had complained to school authorities in November. It took that conversation with the police officer's wife in February to end it all. White was arrested less than 48 hours later.

When will they arrest those school "authorities?"

SENTENCED April 4 - White was sentenced to 48 years in prison.

Letter of recommendation (PDF) from the school where White was suspended for a week for viewing pornography (and later admitted to masturbating) at the school. This school also investigated him for TWO separate incidents before forcing him to resign. And that was only because a parent threatened to go to the police with her complaints.

One teacher from the school wrote a letter on White's behalf for the sentencing hearing.

Freeport, TEXAS

Jan 13, 2007 - Aleyda Mendez Garza, a third-grade bilingual teacher at Jane Long Elementary School, was arrested and is being held on $75,000 bond. She was indicted on six counts of tampering with a government record.

Also indicted was Nancy Mendez, a aide to Garza, for on one count of theft, 10 counts of tampering with a government record and 10 counts of bribery.

GARCIA ARRESTED Both Mendez and Garza were employees of Rosa Maria Garcia, the executive director of Brazosport (ISD - Independent school district) special programs division. Garcia was arrested Dec. 8 on a charge of theft by a public servant. She was released the same day after posting $10,000 bond.

Mendez originally reported the allegations about her supervisor’s behavior to police. The money from the voucher was to be used to pay the attorney’s fees for a convicted felon working for the district, court documents state.

Special programs is a department that oversees different federal programs including English as a Second Language, bilingual education and migrant education.

GUILTY PLEA & SENTENCING April 5, 2008 - Rosa Maria Garcia was sentenced to 6 years in prison (six years on each of 10 bribery counts and probation for all eight theft counts. The bribery sentences to run concurrently)

Garcia pleaded guilty to bribery and theft by a public servant in January. As part of her sentence, Garcia received 10 years probation, which will start when she is released from prison, and must pay $42,679 in restitution. She will have to serve about a year and a half before being considered for parole.

During the internal district investigation, some teachers admitted Garcia helped obtain forged teacher certification for them from Mexico that could not be verified.

Garcia had been convicted in 1972 of felony theft of El Paso County funds.