OUTRAGE OF THE DAYFor something that will send your blood pressure soaring, read the Outrage of the Day. It's a tie with the sentencing case below for disgust.
SENTENCED to 76 years, 10 years suspended
In Indiana, Jennifer Jacobi, 35, a substitute teacher who had a long-term "relationship" with a known pedophile and major producer of child pornography in Maine she met on the Internet, was sentenced to 66 years for her sexual violation of two children, one was 8-years-old, both were relatives. She also allowed Richard Prado to molest the children. He later committed suicide in a Maine jail. Jacobi is still facing federal child pornography charges. She is married and the mother of two children, ages 2 and 11.
In an interview with a t.v. reporter, the reporter asked if she saw herself as a sex offender and Jacobi replied, “Honestly, no.”
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GUILTY VERDICT - Enticing a minor for immoral purposes
Sharon Rutherford, 30, was found guilty by a jury of of two counts of enticing a minor for immoral purposes. She is alleged to have had sex with four students, two of whom were of the age of consent. The other two were under age 16. The school was notified that she was a problem in 2004 but their investigation "found no evidence." No idea if they called in the police. Rutherford faces further charges of soliciting a student to murder her husband. Those charges are pending, presumably because it will be easier to establish once her sexual involvement was proven. We're betting that it will be a movie of the week in less than a year. The lawsuits will probably be sooner. (Alabama)
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GUILTY PLEA - Public Lewdness
In Lewiston, NY, a P.E. teacher pleaded guilty to public lewdness three months after being arrested in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Several customers complained. Anthony Fazzary, 42, will be sentenced in February. In the meantime, school officials are "discussing a resolution of the Fazzary case with the Addison Teachers Association."
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GUILTY PLEA - possession of heroin in a school
A third grade teacher may avoid a criminal record after all. She was found in possession of heroin, marijuana and associated paraphernalia in the school, some on her person in the classroom. After pleading, the judge held out the possibility of Drug Court where her conviction will be erased after completion of the program. Krista Crosby, 34, will, of course, be eligible to teach elsewhere with a perfectly clean record. Thank you, Nebraska.
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ON TRIAL
Sometimes we only learn of misconduct when the educator is on trial. Such is the case with Jose "Joe" David Soliz, 29, a first grade teacher in Texas accused of molesting four students.
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ARRESTED - Sodomy and sexual abuse
A popular assistant principal in Alabama was arrested on allegations of sexual abuse and sodomy of a 16-year-old male. Cleavon Eason, 36, has been the assistant principal for ten years and his arrest prompted one student to ask, "How can this really be happening?" It isn't the naiive question it sounds like. It's more a cry of pain at the betrayal.
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ARRESTED - sex with student
Christina Butler, 33, a Tampa, Florida teacher was arrested charged with having sex with a ninth grade student. Police were alerted when they stopped a group of teenagers in her car and one of the teenagers revealed the sexual relationship.
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ARRESTED - five counts of rape - of student
In Utah, another female teacher, Cris Morris, 29, was arrested on five counts of rape, a first degree felony, for allegedly having sexual intercourse with a juvenile male student. Criminal charges haven't been filed yet, but if they are and she is convicted, we have a clue to the future. Consulting our Utah Ouija board (and looking at past sentencing in Utah) we predict ... ... ... Probation.
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CATCH UP
Two teachers in Woodland, California were arrested, both on sex charges. We hadn't heard about either one of them before the article that was run in connection with the Associated Press series.
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ARRESTED - sexual conduct by a school employee
Kevin Kegel, 28, a Nevada teacher was charged with sexual conduct by a school employee with a pupil (age 14 or 15) from the same school" and two similar counts including a pupil of age 16 or 17. He was fired in June and arrested in July. A preliminary is scheduled for November.
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CHARGED - Obstruction of justice
Two Oklahoma City school officials were charged in connection with two assaults on students that were allegedly motivated by the students' race. One was the Transportation Director and a school superintendent charged with obstruction of justice for trying to get the investigation stopped.
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ARRESTED - Sexual assault of student
In West Virginia, a 22-year-old computer technician working for a board of education was arrested for having sex with a 15-year-old student he met at one of the schools. Casey Casto, 22, has been charged with third-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual abuse by a parent, guardian, custodian or person in a position of trust to a child.
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ARRESTED - Domestic violence and burglary
School Board member Manuel “Manny” Hernandez, 29, was arrested domestic violence charges and faces felony counts of assault and burglary stemming from a violent fight with an ex-girlfriend. It's alleged he climbed through her kitchen window at 10:00 a.m. and hit her several times with his fists. The couple have a child together. He's a lawyer and former municipal judge. At 29. (Texas)
"School board members can only be removed for incompetence, official misconduct, intoxication or conviction on felony charges, according to the state education code. "
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ARRAIGNED
An assistant band director in Mission, Texas, was arraigned on a charge possessing a controlled substance after officers found 1.8 grams of cocaine in his home. The lawyer for Christopher Motes, 42, is confident he can get the evidence found in the search warrant suppressed. In the meantime, police found a good deal of pornography in the home and have sized his computer to look for any illegal material. Motes is on probation from a forgery charge more than four years ago.
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BACKGROUND CHECKS - NOT
Background checks were instituted in every state to keep convicted teachers out of the classroom. Every state and every school district requires such checks and it's the first line of of self-defense in the arsenal of every school administrator when teacher misconduct occurs. "We conducted a background check, " they recite, as if that was the end of their responsibility. Few reporters ask beyond that, like when was the check conducted? Was the teacher allowed into the classroom before the background check was completed? Because that's the case in Alabama, and we assume elsewhere, for those hired on an "temporary emergency basis." And claiming that "principals are going to be honest" in the reference check is really stretching credulity.
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LAWSUIT
A lawsuit backed by the ACLU in another attempt to corrupt the accountability and responsibility process in school hiring has failed. A teacher in Louisiana was fired one week after she was hired when parents and the school found out about her "adult-oriented" artwork on her website. The school district thought that she exhibited poor professional judgement in telling students about the site, "even if she mentioned the site only to warn students not to visit it." She and the ACLU claimed the firing was a violation of her first amendment right of free speech. The lawsuit failed on a technicality and the ACLU hasn't decided yet whether to file another lawsuit. And find a friendlier judge.
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SCHOOL REFORM WITHOUT THE, AH, REFORM
An article in the New York Daily News on Mayor Bloomberg's dealings with the teachers unions gave us a chance to recall his previous, ah, school reform appearance.
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