A Florida highschool principal and 4 staffers have been arrested after allegedly failing to report the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old lady to the state.
Palm Seaside Central Excessive Faculty Principal Darren Edgecomb, 58, was booked Monday evening for his alleged failure, police mentioned.
Prices have been additionally filed towards assistant principal Dan Snider, 49, assistant principal Nereyda Garcia, 37, refrain instructor Scott Houchins, 53, and faculty behavioral therapist Priscilla Carter.
Charging paperwork revealed that faculty directors have been alerted to the abuse on June 16, 2021, when a good friend of the sufferer wrote a letter alleging that the 15-year-old had been assaulted by two college students, CBS 12 reviews.
The letter mentioned the sufferer “has had many issues with guys and has been sexually assaulted by two of them,” with the good friend claiming that that they had witnessed the suspects “not taking no for a solution.”
The letter added that the sufferer was struggling nervousness and panic assaults on account of the assault, which was main her to commit “self-harm.”
The letter was obtained by Houchins and seen by at the very least 5 employees members, none of whom reported the case to the Division of Kids and Households, which is remitted by state legislation, in response to the affidavit.
The choice for the varsity to not report the case allegedly occurred greater than a month later throughout a gathering on August 19, 2021, when Garcia mentioned that the scholar’s dad and mom must be those to inform the state, in response to the charging paperwork.
Investigators famous that one employees member claimed to have carried out his personal investigation and didn’t imagine any assault occurred, however the faculty nonetheless determined to self-discipline one of many boys.
When officers questioned the worker as to why the scholar was punished regardless of his probe, the staffer merely replied that he was “conscious of the way it appears.”
All 5 educators have been charged with one depend of failure to report sexual abuse and have been ordered to steer clear of the sufferer, witnesses and college students.
Houchins, Garcia and Snider had their bond set at $3,000, with Carter and Edgecomb’s bond set at $10,000 as a result of their alleged efforts to downplay the incident.
Edgecomb was notably faraway from the campus in 2019 after he and former assistant principal Laurence Greenberg have been accused of improperly altering college students’ grades.
The Faculty District of Palm Seaside County mentioned in a press release that each one the staff have been re-assigned to positions with no contact with college students.
“The allegations involving college students occurred off of faculty property and over a weekend. Nonetheless, irrespective of when or the place any alleged assault towards a pupil happens, our coverage aligns with the legislation, which requires all personnel to report suspected abuse,” the district added.
Representatives for the accused staffers couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
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