Summary - February 14, 2007

Summary for February 14, 2007

Arrested
Another teacher in Hawaii has been arrested in connection with drug dealing. In other news, lawmakers gave preliminary approval for teachers and school workers to participate in random drug testing as all law enforcement officers in every state of the union do. But teacher union opposition is likely to kill the effort.

A 28-year-old Missouri teacher was arrested and charged with having sex with a 15-year-old female student.

Arrested on a charge of sexual exploitation of children, a Georgia teacher is in jail. Police found child pornography on his computer and seized three computers, several hard drives and computer disks.

Convicted
This is the third male teacher accused of taking nude pictures of male students. This one waived a jury trial. A judge in Colorado found him guilty of of 35 counts of coercing three young teenage boys into posing nude. He'll be sentenced in April, but it's not the end. Other charges are pending in another county.

Sentenced
To six to 20 months - a real wrist slap - for an Erie, Pennsylvania teacher who pleaded no contest ("I admit it, but you might not be able to prove it.") for having sex with a female student. The girl was 14 at the time, the teacher was 24 and female as well.

It's the Law
Misreported by a half dozen papers as "Appeals Court Sentences Teacher to No Parole," the court's decision was to overrule a judge who sought to become a 13th juror, letting his opinion override the jury decision in a case. He did not order a new trial; he mandated a new verdict. That being so, the teacher who murdered her husband in 2004 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility parole, is still -- in prison without the the possibility of parole. We provide details and a link to the decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Summary - February 13, 2007

Summary for February 13, 2007

Lawsuit
A Florida coach was sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation for his sexual involvement with a student. Now she's suing the school district for having hired him.

Arrested
Two school volunteers - a 67-year-old man in Georgia and a 52-year-old Maryland grandfather were arrested. The first was charged with molestation of students, the second of his granddaughter.
TT- School volunteers and teaching assistants aren't always fingerprinted or have background checks run. We don't know about these two cases.

Just Wondering
It's been a year since a Texas P.E. teacher was suspended - with pay - for injuring a child. The local paper is wondering why nothing has been done. It's probably the cocaine arrest. Or the board has been busy -- six other employees of the school district are on suspension with pay.

Thinking about Suspension
Four months after a Texas teacher was arrested for touching a 11-year-old boy, and one month after his indictment, the school board is considering suspending the teacher until his contract ends in May. Maybe.

Porn Star Teacher
A Kentucky teacher sued to get her job back when it became known that she had starred in several porn movies. (A reader informs us that she actually shot footage for one movie, but the movie company had enough footage for 11 movies and we take his word for it.) However, on Friday the Kentucky Court of Appeals dismissed her case. Not to worry. Her lawyer says she has another teaching job in another state.

Summary - February 12, 2007

Summary for February 12, 2007


Arrested
Shockwaves are still roiling Clifton Park, New York after a first grade teacher was arrested for alleged sexual abuse of several male students.

Sentenced
A Concord, New Hampshire teacher who "ran away" with a 16-year-old student was sentenced on the kidnapping charge to one to three years, suspended. For contacting the student while on bail, she was sentenced to 12 months in jail.

In Tampa, Florida a music teacher was sentenced to 25 years in prison and 20 years of sex offender probation after pleading guilty to lewd and lavascious molestation of several students.

Pleaded Guilty
A 49-year-old Colorado teacher pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child. He was caught in a sting on the internet.

Summary -February 9, 2007

Summary for February 9, 2007

Over 200 Angry Parents
In Urbana, Illinois are demanding to know why they weren't notified when a teacher was accused of misconduct in November. He's since been arrested for molesting two to three 7 to 8-year-olds in the school. Police have seized the records in the Superintendent's office, the school principal has been place on indefinite administrative leave, and the state attorney is also investigating.

Indicted (2)
A Lexington, Kentucky teacher on five sex abuse charges on three victims under age 12 and two younger than 14.

In Paris, Maine, police found tens of thousands of photos and 300 movies depicting child porn on five computers of a substitute teacher. Police say it is the biggest child porn case they've investigated. The teacher has been indicted.

Sentenced (2)
In what is continuing to be a trend, another female teacher has been sentenced to the hardship of probation for sex with a student. This is in Illinois.

Another female teacher in North Carolina was also sentenced -- again -- to probation for her sexual contact with a male student.

Arrested (4)
Fourth graders turned in a substitute teacher for using cocaine in the classroom in Lewiston, New York.

A Michigan teacher, her husband, and a third man were arrested when police raided their home. They were charged with with possession of a meth lab, possession of meth and possession of marijuana. Police found meth, lab components, rifles, a shotgun and body armor.

In New Jersey, "Whale Man," a self-described educator who gives presentations was arrested for drug and child porn charges.

A South Carolina teacher was arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor for allowing minors to drink in his home.

Investigation Continues
Into the popular Stuart, Florida teacher who was arrested for allegedly having sex with a student. Two additional victims are being questioned.

Charges Dismissed
All charges against a Lehigh, Florida teacher were dismissed. Arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious molestation of a female student under age 16, the state attorney said they couldn't prove the case.

Summary - February 8, 2007

Summary February 8, 2007

Convicted

Tricia Coccomo, the Stamford, Connecticut teacher on trial for drunk driving and manslaughter in a 2005 crash that killed three people, was convicted. The Hartford-Courant coverage of the verdict included this bizarre paragraph.

Jurors convicted Coccomo of three counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, a charge that means she was drunk when her BMW crossed onto the wrong side of Long Ridge Road and crashed into the Invernos' Chrysler.

TT - Of course she was drunk. Her blood alcohol level was .20. The state level is .08. But all along the Courant has been peddling the defense storyline that the blood test was faulty, there was a third car, etc. Their articles could have been written by the defense attorney.

Restitution
A convicted child molester and Victorville (California) high school counselor was ordered to pay $12,500 in restitution to his victims. He was sentenced in 2005 to 102 years. Yes, one hundred and two years.

Arrested (4)
A South Carolina teacher is accused of providing alcohol to minors. In Tampa, Florida a teacher who was senior class sponsor is accused of grand theft and fraud for having stolen from the senior class account. An art teacher in Virginia has been charged with indecent liberties with two girls, while a Fort Ann, New York teacher was charged with endangering the welfare of a child for "encouraging" two boys to engage in inapproproriate sexual behavior.

Sentenced
A Mamaroneck, New York teacher was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation after he admitted fondling girls. Parents are suing.

Editorial
An independent student newspaper at CalState Long Beach also noticed that a Los Angeles Superior Court judge was, to put it mildy, somewhat generous in granting probation to sexual predators caught in a sting in Long Beach. As we point out, Lance Ito is still a Los Angeles Superior Court judge. Go figure.

Resigned
The fifth Frontier School District employee (Blasdell, New York) has been arrested and charged with sex crimes in the last two and a half years.

Convicted
A Liberal, Kansas teacher was convicted of one count of rape of a 6-year-old girl. He was also found guilty of sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

Summary - February 6, 2007

Summary for February 6, 2007

Arrested
--> A school bus driver in Kentucky was arrested after the school bus she was driving was in an accident. One child remains in critical condition. It's alleged she was under the influence of drugs at the time.

--> Married, with three small children, a New Jersey teacher was arrested on charges he was sexually involved with a 15-year-old student.

Pleaded
A fifth-grade teacher in Visalia, California pleaded guilty to one count of lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 14 years old a few days before a trial was to have started. The victim was 11-years-old. There were, according to his attorney, "issues with DNA evidence that contributed" to the decision to plead but he didn't elaborate.

Sentenced
--> An Assistant Superintendent for a Long Island district was sentenced to jail for larceny and money laundering. Da Newday article is hard to fathom, you know, unless youse is a wiseguy, but the facts are dat the guy isn't the only one.

--> In Michigan, a special education paraprofessional was sentenced to three to 15 years for abusing a 15-year-old boy. He pleaded no contest in January to the abuse.

Trial
A teacher is on trial in Connecticut for drunk driving that killed three people. The jury is deliberating, the newspaper is cheering for her, she doesn't remember anything, her co-workers claim she wasn't drunk, the blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit and then some, and the three people are still dead.

Lawsuit
A student who had sex with a teacher and had his child is now suing the Spokane [Washington] Public Schools for being aware of it. He was arrested, and it all sounds sordid and ... sordid.

Parents Angry
Parents in Torrance, California are still fuming that a registered sex offender was allowed to volunteer in their elementary school. The school principal and superintendent apologized, but the principal's reasoning sounds very strange and, for someone charged with the safety of children, not very smart.

Summary - February 5, 2007

Summary for February 5, 2007

Superintendent Suspended
Maynard, Massachusetts has suspended the school superintendent pending an investigation into what he knew about a teacher accused of sexually abusing students. The superintendent says he received a phone call in 2004 in which the caller said an unidentified teacher tried to molest his friend 30 years earlier. He claims he did not know the caller was talking about Joseph Magno. TT entry for Joseph Magno.

Arrested
- A 57-year-old Baltimore, Maryland teacher has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing a 14-year-old female student from the school.

- A Stuart, Florida teacher was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual activity with a 16-year-old student.

- In San Diego, a teacher pleaded not guilty charged with three counts of sexual activity with a 16-year-old student. Officials at the school became suspicious and notified police.

Trial
It looks as if lawyers are planning an insanity defense for a teacher accused of murdering his wife in July 2006.

Sentenced
A 4th-grade teacher who molested nine elementary school boys from 1999 to 2005 was sentenced to four years after pleading no contest to two charges. In exchange for the plea, 13 charges were dropped.

Summary - February 2, 2007

Summary for February 3, 2007

Arrested
- A basketball coach in West Virginia was arrested and charged with attempted use of a minor in sexually explicit acts and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian. Another teacher found the cell phone text messages and notified authorities.

- Statutory rape is the accusation against a Masschusetts teacher who was arrested. The alleged victim is not one of her students.

- A Placentia, California teacher is accused of showing two boys pornography in the computer lab. He was arrested. It doesn't sound like pop-ups.

- A drug raid in an upscale Portland, Oregon neighborhood at a former pre-school teacher's home end up with four arrests. One of them was the teacher who was indicted on accusations that include manufacturing, distributing and possessing a controlled substance.

Sentenced
A loathesome geneticist, a Time magazine's runner-up for Man of the Year in 1995, was sentenced to 14 years for the sexual abuse of girl starting when she was 10 years old. The judge acknowledged the extraordinary number of letters in support, only the judge wished they had seen the evidence.

If you really want to be disgusted, there's the camp counselor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys in a summer camp in 1976. He also pleaded no contest in 1977 to sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy Connecticut, where he was ordered to resign, leave the state, and seek counseling. He went on to teach for 27 years. The Massachusetts judge gave him 90 days for the sexual assaults of the two boys.

Not all judges are so unsympathetic to victims. In Kansas, a teacher pleaded no contest to three counts of sexual exploitation of two third-grade girls when he persuaded them to take pictures of their genitals. He was about to get 45-days as "shock treatment" in jail until he opened up his mouth and the judge added another 15 days. " I don’t think leniency is appropriate," the judge is reported to have said.

Lawsuit
A Lodi, California teacher was sentenced in May 2006 after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of child molestation, exhibiting harmful material to a minor and soliciting another to engage in a lewd act. A former student is now suing the woman and the school district.

Legal
In another courtroom, a Colorado teacher was trying to finalize a plea agreement in connection with charges from abuse that happened in Utah 20 years ago.

Summary - February 3, 2007

Summary for February 3, 2007

Arrested
- A basketball coach in West Virginia was arrested and charged with attempted use of a minor in sexually explicit acts and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian. Another teacher found the cell phone text messages and notified authorities.

- Statutory rape is the accusation against a Masschusetts teacher who was arrested. The alleged victim is not one of her students.

- A Placentia, California teacher is accused of showing two boys pornography in the computer lab. He was arrested. It doesn't sound like pop-ups.

- A drug raid in an upscale Portland, Oregon neighborhood at a former pre-school teacher's home end up with four arrests. One of them was the teacher who was indicted on accusations that include manufacturing, distributing and possessing a controlled substance.

Sentenced
A loathesome geneticist, a Time magazine's runner-up for Man of the Year in 1995, was sentenced to 14 years for the sexual abuse of girl starting when she was 10 years old. The judge acknowledged the extraordinary number of letters in support, only the judge wished they had seen the evidence.

If you really want to be disgusted, there's the camp counselor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys in a summer camp in 1976. He also pleaded no contest in 1977 to sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy Connecticut, where he was ordered to resign, leave the state, and seek counseling. He went on to teach for 27 years. The Massachusetts judge gave him 90 days for the sexual assaults of the two boys.

Not all judges are so unsympathetic to victims. In Kansas, a teacher pleaded no contest to three counts of sexual exploitation of two third-grade girls when he persuaded them to take pictures of their genitals. He was about to get 45-days as "shock treatment" in jail until he opened up his mouth and the judge added another 15 days. " I don’t think leniency is appropriate," the judge is reported to have said.

Lawsuit
A Lodi, California teacher was sentenced in May 2006 after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of child molestation, exhibiting harmful material to a minor and soliciting another to engage in a lewd act. A former student is now suing the woman and the school district.

Legal
In another courtroom, a Colorado teacher was trying to finalize a plea agreement in connection with charges from abuse that happened in Utah 20 years ago.

Summary - February 2, 2007

Summary for February 3, 2007

Arrested
- A basketball coach in West Virginia was arrested and charged with attempted use of a minor in sexually explicit acts and sexual abuse by a parent, guardian or custodian. Another teacher found the cell phone text messages and notified authorities.

- Statutory rape is the accusation against a Masschusetts teacher who was arrested. The alleged victim is not one of her students.

- A Placentia, California teacher is accused of showing two boys pornography in the computer lab. He was arrested. It doesn't sound like pop-ups.

- A drug raid in an upscale Portland, Oregon neighborhood at a former pre-school teacher's home end up with four arrests. One of them was the teacher who was indicted on accusations that include manufacturing, distributing and possessing a controlled substance.

Sentenced
A loathesome geneticist, a Time magazine's runner-up for Man of the Year in 1995, was sentenced to 14 years for the sexual abuse of girl starting when she was 10 years old. The judge acknowledged the extraordinary number of letters in support, only the judge wished they had seen the evidence.

If you really want to be disgusted, there's the camp counselor who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two boys in a summer camp in 1976. He also pleaded no contest in 1977 to sexually assaulting a 9-year-old boy Connecticut, where he was ordered to resign, leave the state, and seek counseling. He went on to teach for 27 years. The Massachusetts judge gave him 90 days for the sexual assaults of the two boys.

Not all judges are so unsympathetic to victims. In Kansas, a teacher pleaded no contest to three counts of sexual exploitation of two third-grade girls when he persuaded them to take pictures of their genitals. He was about to get 45-days as "shock treatment" in jail until he opened up his mouth and the judge added another 15 days. " I don’t think leniency is appropriate," the judge is reported to have said.

Lawsuit
A Lodi, California teacher was sentenced in May 2006 after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of child molestation, exhibiting harmful material to a minor and soliciting another to engage in a lewd act. A former student is now suing the woman and the school district.

Legal
In another courtroom, a Colorado teacher was trying to finalize a plea agreement in connection with charges from abuse that happened in Utah 20 years ago.

Summary - February 1, 2007

Summary for February 1, 2007

Arrested

A Moreno Valley, California teacher was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old youth he met on a chat website. He is scheduled for a Feb 28, arraignment.

In Illinois, a second-grade teacher was arrested for sexually molesting children at his school. Horrifyingly, the school district had been informed about the allegations before and after their own investigation they allowed the teacher to continue to teach -- with one of the alleged victims still in the classroom. Police searched the school superintendent's office and took their records on the case.

An arrest warrant has been issued for a Pennsylvania teacher for corrupting the morals of a minor and endangering the welfare of a child. Two other teachers were arrested in the last two weeks alone.

A vice-Principal and councilman sent a press release denying the domestic battery assault charges against him. He "is an outspoken proponent of aggressive law enforcement and understands that an innocent person can be arrested for domestic violence base on the statement of one individual." He had two previous arrests, one in 1999 and one in 2003 for -- domestic battery.

Union

California State Teachers' Retirement System Loses $100 million" -- in a bad investment -- is how the story should have been reported.

Pleaded Guilty

A Cincinnati, Ohio assistant Principal pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault of a 12-year-old girl in a movie theatre. It's trashy but then, Jerry Springer was once mayor of Cincinnati.

No Contest Plea

A Nebraska principal a defense lawyer described as a “rising star in the field of education” was pleaded no contest to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old male student 11 years ago in Nebraska. It was when the "rising star" was a student teacher. The judge, apparently, wasn't impressed.

“Teachers are more than educators,” he said. “(They are) mentors, trusted guides, perhaps even a moral compass.”

Nicely said.

Excessive Indignation

An Andover, Massachusetts newspaper is indignant that a criminal investigation against a teacher is being conducted and they want to know what's happening. Now. Today. Sheeze.