Summary - Jan 10, 2008

The Mansfield News Journal had the same reaction we did when Dustin Powers was finally sentenced to prison.

But the fact is there are crimes that deserve prison time, pure and simple. In this instance -- a school teacher taking advantage of his position of authority to start a sexual relationship with a junior high student -- prison time was a must.
It would have given Powers time to reflect on his crime.

It would have given counselors time to work with him in a closed environment in a sex offender treatment program. It would have been a shock to Powers' system to see and hear the prison doors swing shut and realize he had committed a horrible crime.

Most importantly, it would have protected the victim from exactly what happened -- becoming a victim again.

Read the whole thing.

PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE
In Arizona, Stephen Charles Hume, 60, has asked for 3-4 weeks to consider a plea agreement. He is accused of secretly videotaping students as they changed clothes for art projects last October. It was a Rant of the Day when he was being investigated for the incredible postings of some of his supporters.
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Endangering the Welfare of a Child charges
When Fulton, NY special education teacher Gracia Thompson was arrested and charged with with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child for alleged abuse of two special needs students, her lawyer accused the two teacher's aides of "some kind of vendetta."

The newspaper had to modify the story when they found out the aides didn't turn the teacher in. The two aides were contacted by police after the call to a child abuse hotline that started the police investigation. The paper then added the full text of depositions and accusatory instruments filed with the court. They are available at the story. [If you're having trouble opening them, right click open them in a new window or new tab.]

The school district investigated in May and did not notify police.
TT - Link for Thompson

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
A 39-year-old Texas teacher was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 7 years of supervised release. There is no probation for federal sentencing.
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A Florida elementary school principal was arrested again on child pornography charges. Arrested in December, the new child pornography charges are the result of computer forensics.
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In Wisconsin, a retired teacher who admitted he had a sexual interest in teens his entire life, will be going to trial. His son turned him in when he found child pornography on his father's computer.
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Summary - November 15, 2007

TOP STORY
A labor consultant at a teachers strike in Ohio was charged for not telling the truth in his report that a security van for the school ran over his foot on the picket line. The reporter wasn't quite candid either. John Avouris isn't a labor consultant. He's the Ohio Education Association (OEA) representative at the labor talks and described elsewhere as a union president. Don't miss the videos of the thuggery at the picket lines and intimidation of children on the school buses.
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SENTENCED - Sex with student
She's officially our Teacher Trash of the Month. Kirsten Kinley, 27, was sentenced to three years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended. She pleaded guilty in August to one count of a third-degree sex offense involving sexual relations with a 15-year-old boy. Charges of improper sexual conduct with a second boy were dropped after he refused to cooperate with prosecutors.
She will be required to be a sex offender for life.
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Note: Two other teachers in Howard County, Maryland schools are awaiting trial for - sex with students.

GUILTY VERDICT - Murder
In Houston, coverage of the trial of David Temple, accused of killing his 8-month pregnant wife was intense. The jury found him guilty of the 1999 killing.
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Another teacher, Carla Hughes, is on trial in Mississippi for the murder of her husband. This is the second trial. The first jury found her guilty. A judge ordered a retrial because the jury wasn't "race neutral." TT - Link

GUILTY VERDICT - Sex with student
Michael Ashley, 41, was found guilty of third-degree rape and third-degree sodomy for sex with a 14-year-old girl. The jury recommended a six-year sentence. (Kentucky)
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ACQUITTED (Partially)
A New Jersey history teacher was acquitted by a Pennsylvania jury on 17 charges after a knife fight at an underage drinking party. They couldn't decide on another 7 charges against Christopher Davis, 35. It's a USA Network Story-of-the-Week material.
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RETIRED
An elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania agreed to retire and never teach again in Pennsylvania after an elementary student saw a sexual image on his computer. He was acquitted in 2001 of lewd conduct at the Catholic school. It's a convenient solution for the school but he's still going to have a teaching license.
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CHARGED - Sex with student
Thirty-nine-year-old Brenda K. Baillargeon was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old male student. The mother of the boy obtained a harassment restraining order against the teacher in October. Maybe she should have bought a gun. (Wisconsin)
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CHARGED - Grand larceny
A technology teacher at an Edison school in Rochester, New York, was charged with stealing the school's robot worth about $5,000. The robot is used in competitions.
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ARRESTED -
In Charleston, S.C., Scott Knight, 38, was arrested, accused of harassing a student.
In North Charleston, Larry Smith, 40, was arrested for assault of a high and aggravated nature against a student.
In Lakewood, CO, Frank Lee Pierce, 30, was arrested in sex internet sting.
Kerry McJunkins, 38, was arrested in Kentucky on sex charges in Arizona that date back to the 1980s.

IN OTHER NEWS

Getting rid of bad teachers
Is how the blog at the New York Times described the latest plan by Mayor Bloomberg to rid New York City schools of incompetent teachers. It all sounds great on paper, but even Bloomberg confessed it was an impossible task in a speech earlier this year. Just after he gave the teachers a 43% pay raise. And then there were those retirement consessions.
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Teacher shortage
While Bloomberg reforms New York schools (kinda), there's a teacher shortage in Maryland. At least, in Anne Arundel County public schools. They're hiring foreign teachers and in a new policy that is aimed at helping the new teachers, the district wants to sponsor their permanent residency in the U.S.
THE USUAL CAUSES of teacher shortage are cited: low pay and benefits.
THE REAL PROBLEM: The problem is teachers who can't pass competency exams after attending expensive American colleges and universities.
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Summary - November 14, 2007

SENTENCED - sorta
In Arizona, Rebecca Kelley, 24, was sentenced to three years' probation for failing to report an offense involving a minor and three separate charges of contributing to the delinquency of a child. The male student was 17-years-old. The judge said he believed probation was appropriate given Kelley’s remorse, acceptance of responsibility and age. (Arizona) We looked up the judge's qualifications.
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SENTENCED - for child pornography
Not only did James Mircovich possess pornography, he distributed it. When he was teaching he was accused of inappropriate conduct or contact with female students. Sentenced to 12 years for possession and distribution of child pornography, including pictures of a 20-month-old baby being sexually abused by her father.
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SENTENCED - Sex with student
In Georgia, Richard Whitehead, 34, will have a lot of time to wonder if maybe sex with a 17-year-old student was a good idea. He was sentenced to 30 years. And after that, he'll be a registered sex offender.
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ARRESTED - Child pornography
A teacher's aide in an elementary school was arrested for possession of child pornography. The aide is James Leonarczyk, 40, and investigators are now looking into his interactions with students at the school. (New Jersey)
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See our list of teachers and administrators who have been sentenced for child pornography and those who are awaiting sentencing.

OTHER NEWS

Sentencing Reform
They are talking about sentencing reform in Massachusetts to require mandatory sentences for child rapists. The average sentence for child rape in Massachusetts is three to five years. One of the witnesses at the hearing was a victim of a Massachusetts teacher who got a suspended jail term and probation after pleading guilty to child rape and child pornography. A MEASURE of the teacher's remorse was that the teacher broke the conditions of his probation and ended up being sentenced to the two years. They ought to investigate the judge. Oh, we already did.
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Ghost Employees
Even while giving stump speeches and writing articles about how there aren't enough jobs in Pennsylvania, former Representative Frank LaGrotta hired his sister and her daughter for ghost jobs. They got paid but did no work. He was charged with conflict of interest in the corruption investigation. His sister is a third-grade teacher. Both she and her daughter were also charged. And that's just the beginning of the scandal in Pennsylvania.
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Understandably Upset
Parents at an elementary school are understandably upset after they found out the school counselor was arrested for indecency with a child in 2004. A jury acquitted him of the charge. Authorities say another charge against him was dropped after a second student who'd accused him of a sex crime previously couldn't be found to testify in court. (Texas)
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Drunk in the classroom
"I'm trying to think why they wouldn't even mention that," one mother commented when she heard from reporters that a teacher her children's elementary school was sent home for being drunk and having a bottle of liquor in his classroom. (Wisconsin)
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Lawsuit
A judge ordered a Pennsylvania school district to turn over the names of 19 students whose names were redacted from documents turned over to an attorney whose client is suing the school district. The lawsuit? The parents of a girl who a victim of Donald James Rosie, 56, contend the school failed to investigate Rosie's involvement with female students. The girl was 16-years-old.
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Summary - November 13, 2007

SENTENCED - Child molestation
In Florida, David L. Mindick, 61, a substitute teacher, was sentenced to 225 days in jail - not prison - and five years' probation for for lewd and lascivious molestation of victims younger than age 12. The six girls were 8-years-old.
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SENTENCED - Sex with a child
Geometry teacher Julio Polo, 36, was sentenced to seven years in prison, followed by five years' probation after a jury found him guilty of two counts of lewd battery and one count of having sex with a child. He is married and the father of two children. He turned down a plea offer of two years. His defense was that it was his nephew, not him. The student was 16-years-old. (Florida)
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SENTENCED - Sorta
In Maine, Christopher Dumaine, 39 an English teacher, pleaded guilty to two counts each of gross sexual assault and unlawful sexual contact and one count of violating a condition of release for contacting the victim against court orders. He was sentenced to to four years in jail - not prison - with all but the nine months suspended.

The girl was 16-years-old. She wrote a letter to the judge asking to see Dumaine when she turned 18. Dumaine will be a registered sex offender for 10 years.
[Ten years sex offender registration but only 9 months in the local jail????]
(Maine - as a poster said, breeding ground for Jerry Springer episodes.)
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INDICTED - Lesbian sex with student
Arrested in May, Heather Thornsby, 34, was indicted by a grand jury on seven counts related to an alleged inappropriate relationship with a female student. She is charged with three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of exploitation of a minor by electronic means. (Tennessee)
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INDICTED
Paul M. Knutson, 58, currently a teacher in Arkansas, was indicted by a grand jury on 13 felony counts of sexual conduct with a minor and drug-related charges. The charges date back to between 1983 and 1985 when he taught in Scottsdale, Arizona. The newspaper reports that at least six cases in which employees of East Valley schools face sexual-related charges involving minors are moving through Maricopa County Superior Court. (Arizona)
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ARRESTED - Vehicular
A technology teacher at a middle school led police on a chase after they were called to the school following a meeting between the teacher and school administrators. The subject of the meeting wasn't revealed, but they would not allow him back on campus and two schools were locked down. It sounds to us like a mental health issue. (Illinois)
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ARRESTED - Suspicion of lewd acts with a child
A 62-year-old teacher's aide was arrested in Alta, California, suspicion of committing lewd acts with a child. John Erickson, 62, is a retired teacher. He is accused of exposing himself to one child. (California)
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ARRESTED - DUI, Drug possession, trafficking in drugs
Arrested at a traffic stop for DUI, police searched the car of middle school teacher Jesse Mockler, 30, and found the painkiller Roxicet, a combination of Tylenol and Oxycodone. They also found three muscle relaxant pills called Flexeril in Mockler’s car. Both drugs require a prescription. He's charged with DUI and drug possession and trafficking in drugs. [That last is because of the schedule and quantity of drugs, not because he was selling.] (Florida
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ARRESTED - Lesbian sex with student
In Pennsylvania, Erica L. Baker, 24, a student teacher, was arrested on charges that she had sexual contact with a 16-year-old female student.
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ARRESTED
A registered sex offender was arrested in Illinois working as a temporary worker for a food service company contracted by the school district. He worked two days at a middle school, one day at a high school and was arrested on the fourth day at the middle school. The company was supposed to conduct background searches on all employees. His previous conviction was molestation of a 9 year-old girl. Taxpayers pay top dollar for this?
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OTHER NEWS

COURT NEWS
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a court clerk who tried to get a husband's criminal record cleared so he could be a teacher. She prepared an order to dismiss all charges against her husband, but an employee at the state police records unit got suspicious.
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SHODDY CANADIAN TEACHER DISCIPLINE
Newspapers in Canada are starting to look closely at the teacher disciplinary records and, not surprisingly, are finding the same lack of discipline found in most U.S. states. In British Columbia, the review panel consists of -- get this - one staff lawyer representing the parents and two former union officials. Predictably, the cases are resolved in consent agreements so no one is the wiser. And since, Canada also reports teacher discipline to NASDTEC ("National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification") the records don't quite reflect reality for Canadian teachers either.
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SHODDY U.S. TEACHER DISCIPLINE
USA Today had a similar theme. In an editorial, they want confidentiality agreements eliminated. They also want school districts to quit passing abusers on to other districts. They also report that some states are making it hard for teachers to get away with sexual abuse. In Maine, where state officials refused to release teacher disciplinary actions to the AP reporters, the governor has vowed to change confidentiality laws. In Missouri, legislators are considering a bill that would ban confidentiality agreements in sexual abuse cases. And in Florida, legislators are debating a registry of teacher offenders.
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DRUG SWEEP A drug sweep in an Ohio school was noteworthy for the lack of drugs. Two students were arrested when drug sniffing dogs found drugs in one of their lockers. However, the real story is how the school provided garbage bags in every classroom and teachers told the students they would step out of the room for 90 seconds and students could put whatever contraband they had inside with no questions asked. What did that accomplish? (Ohio)
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Summary - November 1, 2007

TOP STORY
A music teacher in Maine was arrested, charged with misdemeanor touching of students. It is a case that perfectly illustrates how a popular teacher is shielded by that popularity from serious scrutiny even by the parent of a victim. An earlier story of his arrest was filled with accolades gleaned from the newspaper archives, leading to widespread support for him and an accusation that the victim made up the story because of grades.

A second story today shocked readers when they learned that the teacher had admitted his attraction for very young children, had a previous complaint reported against him, and is under suspicion of buying child pornography. The self-examination by readers is thoughtful and serious and very informative.

It also illustrates how communities are torn by their loyalties and how devastating that is to the victim and their families. Some comments from the site are below.
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I imagine the mother must have felt the weight of the teacher's popularity - not an excuse, but that's the way it often is. Some of the first reactions yesterday smacked of what folks fear to face when they speak up. It's been seen before that people with these tendencies ingratiate themselves with the community even while they groom their victims. I don't know if it's intentional camouflage or some kind of subconcious compensation - the good feelings they get from the praise for what they publicly do assuaging to some degree any guilty feelings they get for what they privately do? Maybe a little of both. It might seem like sensationalism to some, but the more these stories are reported the easier it will be for victims to come forward and the harder it will be for perpetrators to continue. Good job, SJ. - Graylady

AND,

I am still reeling over yesterday's comments. My, how everyone changed their tune overnight, and suddenly stopped defending the scumbag teacher. - justme

AND,

Another Park Ave. parent here. Obviously the students he touched were victims, but I think the whole school community: parents, teachers, and students are victims this week. Our trust has been betrayed. It's really easy for outsiders to blurt, "lock up the scumbag", but not so easy for those who worked with him daily, developed a friendship, and have had your child look up to him. Now I make sure my 8 year old doesn't see the news on TV or this site, because I'm just not sure how to explain it to him. As angry as I should be for what he has done, I still can't help feel bad for the guy when reporters are banging on his door and showing his house and address on statewide TV. It's just hard for some to mentally "flip the switch" and change their view from "happy, nice guy" to "horrible criminal". It's just a bad situation all the way around and hope the school can recover and move on as best they can. -DW

AND,

I think cameras in every classroom would be a deterrent to a lot of this behavior. -william

From JohnBerry:

JaneDoe, Please let your niece know that many of the members of this community greatly admire her strength and courage. We are proud of her. ----- Please let your sister know that she did the right thing. She looked at the whole circumstance and made a decision with the facts she had at the time. It is easy to look back and pass judgment as many are taking the opportunity to do. Their statements about what they would have done or what the mom should have done can be seen as people taking an opportunity to discuss the difficulties that face every parent and caregiver. A conversation like this (without the criticism) can be healthy. Through this we will all learn to better deal with these problems. ----- My best wishes and prayers are with this girl, her mom, and all of the families in our community.

AND,

I think if you want to be teacher ,They should have some kind of test before to see if they like children,And yes have camers in every room of the school, - Annie

From a student,

am a 15 year old student at Franklin School and happen to be family with one of the little girls that stepped forward. I am very proud of her and have told her this. I do however believe this man should be away for life. If we pay good enough attention to how this man is talking he feels no remorse, he feels what he's done has to do with mental illness..BS! I have a mental illness and I was just taken off my medication. I've been doing well and you don't see me going out and sexually harassing/touching little boys or girls. I believe the schools should be at fault. They were getting reports and handling it very unprofessional. The mother of this little girls is just as hurt nd feels the same fault as the other parents. What if she had made the report? Do you honestly think it would have blown up this quick? Do you really think this man would have been investigated this quick. I don't believe so. I think it would have been another in-house incident. They would have kept it from the press and this man would not only be walking tall but he'd still be teaching and hurting these little girls. The schools all over America need to do something about this. The schools put cameras in the high schools to watch for drugs/alcahol/tobacco and you dont see the teachers there touching the kids. Maybe it's time to realize we need to do everything we are capable of to protect these innocent children. It's time for security, for cameras, micraphones anything that's going to keep these men/woman from scarring these children. I don't blame the mother. I blame the schools, the police departments, the feds. "Protect and Serve?" I'm not so sure anymore... - AmyLee

From another parent,

had a 15 year old son who was 'frisked' at the urinal in the high school men's room by a teacher with the Vice Principal and the Principal present in the bathroom! They thought it was hiliarious! My son, who is a quiet and modest person was very upset and embarrassed, not mention in a very vulnerable position unable to cover himself. When I found out about the incident, I went to the school to request an investigation and the vice principal said, "I was there! It was no big deal, in fact, it ranks this low on my problem-o-meter!" (he held his two pinched fingers together). I was so upset at this lack of concern or willingness to see the incident as a serious matter and one of sexual harassment. I went to the principal who assured me he would 'talk' to this teacher. I wanted the incident documented in his file and proof that training had taken place regarding sexual harassment. (It never happened) I called my attorney and he offered to write a letter on my behalf to the school but said there was little I could do... I guess I can see where that Mom was coming from with her, 'wait and see approach'- but I didn't 'wait and see', I 'went and said' and got nowhere! The 'good ole boy club' watches it's back and the schools don't even adhere to basic employement law. It is frustrating, wrong, and sickening! The school had another teacher who taught keyboarding at the high school level and he would come behind the girls and put his arms around them to 'show them how to do something on the pc'. While he was showing them, he'd look down their shirt or place his hand over theirs and move the mouse around in a more than suggestive way. My adult daughter told me this after she graduated. It is happening even with our older children-not just 5-7 year olds! Mon Dieu! - MoreSkoolin

There are pages and pages of comments. They will be lost when the story is archived, but they reflect the same experiences and concerns in letters we get daily, in stories that are abundant daily. They are pained communities, families, friends and victims. And we place the burden on correcting the problem on that last - the victims.

It's their testimony that results in conviction. It's their courage that leads them to complain. It's their violation that is denied most often by the schools, fellow teachers, then friends of the accused, in open courtrooms with aggressive lawyers and most sadly of all, by fellow students, children they grew up with who can't imagine themselves as victims and let their fondness for popular teachers sway their opinions.

Why must children have to be burdened with changing the system? Why should they have to wait for laws that make sexual abuse by teachers a felony with automatic registration as a sex offenders? Why must children wait for cameras to be required, mandated, for classrooms where there has been one complaint, one whisper, one indication of a problem?

The first blog I ever had was about teacher misconduct. It was in 2002 and for one month I tracked stories about teachers who were arrested for sexual abuse of their students. In one month there were two stories a day on average. That was five years ago. That was when there were significantly less newspapers online and fewer, less effective, search engines. It took 5-7 hours a day to find the stories and no hope of following up.

With the exception of laws that criminalize teacher/student sex in several states, not much has changed. There are discipline records online in many states, but few list the details of the criminal charges or explantion of how a teacher can have their license revoked for sex with a student when no criminal charges can be found. And there is no explanation why teachers convicted of a crime against students haven't had their license revoked even two years later. In other states it never happens.

Some things need to change.

Summary - Oct 31, 2007

If it's not lawyers, it's their clients. link
We're never quite sure why some lawyers let their clients testify.

HOSPITALIZED
Tampa, Florida teacher Christina Butler has been hospitalized because of "emotional stress, " according to her lawyer.

[Her attorney, Tom] Fox did not discuss the allegations but said there could be problems with statements Butler made to police last week based on her "long history of mental disorders."

Uh, Yeah. She is accused of having sex with a ninth grade student. Butler is 33.
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SENTENCED (sorta)- Lewd and lascivious molestation
A Florida teacher was sentenced to a year in jail - not prison - for lewd or lascivious molestation of a 15-year-old boy. The prosecution wanted 51 months in prison, but the judge said she departed from a prison sentence for reasons including a doctor's testimony that Goodbrad was at a low risk to reoffend, and because he showed immediate remorse. She also sentenced him to community service. We are going out on a limb by saying she's a crackpot and ought not to be a judge and feel immediate remorse for the statement.
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SENTENCED - Child molestation
A judge sentenced teacher Kenneth Lang, 60, to 7 1/2 to 15 years for molesting a boy from 1983 to 1986, starting when the boy was 7. As part of the plea agreement, Lang gave up his right to ask for a sentence review or a sentence reduction after serving two-thirds of his time. The judge praised the the victim for having remarkable inner strength and coming forward.
Lang faces charges in two other states. (New Hampshire)
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SENTENCED - Indecent exposure to a minor
In North Carolina, teacher's assistant Travis Thompson, 39, was sentenced to two years' probation, ordered to pay a $200 fine and ordered to submit to a mental health assessment. He also must register as a sex offender. He pleaded guilty to indecent exposure to a minor. AFTER HIS ARREST, he went on WTVD Channel 11 news and admitted acting inappropriately. He said the girl had given him a lap dance, which she vehemently denies.
She is 13-years-old.
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SENTENCED - sexual abuse of students
Found guilty by a jury of 15 counts of sexual abuse of two students, Curtis Buell, 25, was sentenced to two years in prison, followed by five years' supervised probation. He will have to register as a sex offender. At the blog entry here, people who knew him were not too surprised.
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GUILTY - making threats
"Don't take the stand," is what his lawyer should have advised. Patrick Knoble, 36, was found guilty of making threats against a school board member and the school superintendent. His performance on the stand seemed to be the convincing factor. The state revoked his license in March. (Amazing how fast they can do that when they want to, without waiting for the outcome of any legal proceedings, hearings, grievance processes, appeals and rights to further appeals, etc etc etc.) (Ohio)
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ARRESTED - Electronic enticement of a minor
A University of Hawaii professor was arrested, accused of trying to seduce what he thought was a 15-year-old girl on the Internet. It was, as so many of these chats are, with a police officer. He agreed to meet the 15-year-old because,
"I was trying to help the girl," Fossorier told KHNL television while the police escorted him to a cellblock. "I was trying to meet her and say that what she was doing was wrong."
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ARRESTED - to the delinquency of a minor
A special education teacher's aide was arrested after she helped a 16-year-old leave a group home. It wasn't because she was mentoring him. (South Carolina)
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ARRESTED - Sexual abuse by a parent or guardian
The guardian is the band director, but the story is sketchy. The school also rates a 1 at GreatSchools.net and 1 doesn't mean it's tops. Maybe schools that are academically rotten should not have band or drama or things like movie theatres or hockey rinks or television studios. We have no idea if this school has such features but we know of one in New Jersey that does that rates almost as low.
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PRELIMINARY HEARING
The defense witness today in a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence to go to trial wasn't a spectacular choice.
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ON TRIAL
In Louisiana, 60-year-old Charni S. Dodson, a middle school teacher, is on trial on charges of cruelty to a juvenile, false imprisonment and obstruction of justice for treatment of an adopted boy. She lost custody of one of the boy’s sisters in 2002 after keeping her locked in a windowless room.
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INEPT
"Inept" might be the wrong word, but when you are charged with the safety and education of children, what can you think when they allow a teacher arrested for selling methamphetamine back into the classroom because the crime he was charged with was not violent in nature?

It's Guam and parents complained to a news outlet. The superintendent reversed the decision. TT - Link

Crisis of the Week
MRSA is a staff infection resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. Widely quoted in articles about infections in schools is the figure from CDC that 18,000 people died of it in 2005, compared to 16,000 who died of AIDS. Only it isn't quite what the Centers for Disease Control said. Those are deaths related to healthcare. The community-associated MRSA accounts for only a small percentage of that number. Serious? It can be. But, not the 18,000-dead -in-one-year epidemic found in news stories. Wash your hands, don't share towels, cover wounds to prevent infections. Basic hygiene. Link to CDC page at blog entry.
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Say what???
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Updated - October 30, 2007

Much of the work at the blog is following up on stories. We do this daily but do not re-date the stories until there is a final finding and/or sentencing. Usually we don't even add them in this space either. A few were ones we got inquiries on or were following closely.


INDICTED
Erin Baker, 25, female, an Ohio coach, was indicted on 55 charges of having sexual contact with a player during the past two years. The charges include 38 counts of sexual battery and 17 counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The age of the girl was not given. (Ohio)
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MOTION TO DISMISS VERDICT
In one of those curious cases that makes little sense,the attorney for Albert Scerbo has filed a motion to dismiss or retry Albert Scerbo. Scerbo is a music teacher at an Onondaga Indian school who was arrested in Dec 2006. What is so curious is the pre-trial "racism" charge by the New York Times who termed a small girl who referred to Scerbo as a "white cracker" as "bristling racial tensions." Overblown rhetoric - again in the New York Times - called the case, "an emotionally charged case that has touched on differences in race, class and religion.."

Scerbo was found guilty by a jury on two of the charges and not 17 other charges, after pre-trial coverage that included headline after headline in the newspapers reporting that charges were dropped as four victims were eliminated from the case by the judge . It was a bizarre display of media involvement that seemed out of place with the story, especially since we got tons of e-mail from people asking, "What racism???" We searched for evidence of it online in other local media but found no "bristling tensions" in their coverage of the story. Or the community.

And then, surprisingly, a day or so before sentencing, the local paper ran two stories that resulted in the lawyer asking for a delay in sentencing. After contacting jurors, they allege that two jurors convinced other jurors of the guilt. Bizarrely, the legal motion stated that the two jurors were both educators who told jurors that teachers were trained not to touch children. Teacher training wasn't a part of the prosecution presentation and it's an interesting question whether jurors, whether they are teachers, doctors, lawyers or policemen are allowed to bring their expertise to a trial.

None of which explains the peculiar interest in the case by the media. Can someone tell us who Scerbo is related to? Or what the big deal is?
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TRIAL POSTPONED
The trial of a teacher described as a "great guy and fun. He had a crazy sense of humor," by the PTA president has been postponed. Greg Westhoff, 60, will go to trial in March. In the meantime, more details are emerging about his background that included previous charges of harassing a female student for which he was fired, and a guilty plea to second-degree harassment of a male student in a physical dispute in the cafeteria, an incident for which he was reprimanded and removed from the classroom. He was sentenced to one year conditional discharge in that case.

The school district is being sued by one victim, but the PTA president - someone who you would expect would respect the children who are the alleged victims in the case - said that many students in the class believed that Westhoff's accusers made their allegations because they were failing the class.

She said that to a newspaper. That she said that before the release of information that the teacher was fired for harassment of a female in 1997 doesn't excuse the thoughtlessness. In defending the teacher, she cast doubt about children who have yet to testify, reinforcing the reaction of children in the school who nearly always side with "popular" teachers.

Whether the teacher is ultimately convicted of the charges, there is no excuse for repeating the poor and uninformed judgement of other students. Schools are there to teach children how to think, not to react emotionally. But, even worse, imagine how the victims feel with that stunning condemnation of their motives from an alleged adult. From their school, no less.
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TRIAL to BEGIN (finally)
Arrested in 2004, Jesus Rivera, 45, has been on bail for two years. He is accused of sexually abusing five male students. The abuse dates back to 2002. A jury was selected and the trial is scheduled to begin this week. (California) No idea why the case has taken so long.
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NEW OR COMPLETED CASES
PAROLE DENIED (AGAIN)
For Brian Floss, 44, a third-grade teacher in Arkansas who was sentenced to ten years for sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl. It was the second time the family has had to testify. Floss has served five years.
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SENTENCED
To 90 days in jail for sending lewd text messages to a female high school student and discussing inappropriate topics with her. The high school wrestling coach apologized and called it stupid and irresponsible. The judge corrected him. "It was was more than stupid and irresponsible, it was criminal,” and "extremely concerning." (Minnesota)
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SENTENCED
A boys soccer coach in Michigan was sentenced to 270 days in jail for using a computer to accost a child for immoral purposes and using a computer to disseminate sexually explicit material to a minor. Turns out the two 14-year-old girls were police. The coach will have to register as a sex offender.
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SENTENCED
In Alabama, a teacher pleaded guilty to bringing a loaded gun to school. He was sentenced to a 10 day suspended sentence. He will keep his job. The school had suspended him for three days.
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GUILTY PLEA - child predator
The judge described him as a "manipulative, cunning, deceptive con-man extraordinaire who is a classic child predator" in court after Thomas 'Truck' Harris, 52, admitted molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1991 when he was the boy's baseball coach.

Harris was found guilty by a jury in June on sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal sexual contact in connection with the abuse of another victim . Evaluators at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center at Avenel found him to be a repetitive and compulsive offender.

Interpol is investigating him in connection with cases in the Philippines.
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ARRESTED - child molestation
School bus driver Scott M. Bender, 44, was arrested for investigation of first-degree child molestation. Reportedly, when interviewed by Pierce County sheriff's detectives, the documents say Bender initially denied all of the allegations but later admitted to exposing himself to the girl. She was four-years-old.
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CHARGES DROPPED and RECORD EXPUNGED
For a teacher arrested in Florida in 2006. It was a case we never discovered and did not cover and can't find in archives.
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CORRUPTION, FRAUD, RESIGNATION and MONEY
The Feds are looking into corruption in Memphis Schools and have convened a grand jury to look into $50 million contracts for three schools. Several board members testified. Details won't be available until the grand jury completes their task. In other news, the Memphis Schools have conducted an internal audit into their cafeterias. No criminal charges have been filed as of this date but the preliminary audit is a clue to big problems. It cost them $9,000 just to haul away the 343 tons of food to the dump. And 343 isn't a typo. (Tennessee)
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In New Jersey, the school director of facilities was indicted and he wasn't even the subject of the investigation. Search New Jersey labels for other corruption cases in the "Garden State" that we've started to dub "The Corruption State." Online Resources - links to the U.S. Attorney Office in New Jersey and other states. Fascinating reading.
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We're not sure what is happening in theDelaware Valley Regional High School District in New Jersey, but the school district has forwarded information to the prosecutor's office and the Superintendent has resigned.
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REVENGE?
A school board in North Carolina released the confidential personnel records of a teacher who was fighting a forced transfer to another school. The fact that they only released a few records that would bolster their decision was countered by the teacher who has released many of his records that show he was an exemplary teacher for 18 years.

It appears that they just didn't like him appealing his transfer and embarrassing them.

Confidential personnel records are sacrosanct for teachers accused of criminal conduct, which is making us wonder if the schools aren't using the "confidential personnel record" as a screen to shelter someone other than accused teachers.
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Summary - Oct 26, 2007

TOP STORY
A contract school bus driver in St. Paul, Minnesota, was still missing after an arrest was issued for his arrest for molesting a special education student. Two younger girls also reported that he also touched them inappropriately, but he wasn't investigated in those cases. Apparently, another complaint was investigated but resulted in no disciplinary actions.
This is one of our TRUST US stories that makes you want to march, broom in hand, to a school district office and just vent.

If a parent was this negligent in raising a child and failing to provide safety, the state child welfare agencies would step in.
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SENTENCED - Manufacturing marijuana
Two Michigan teachers, Bret Johnson and Keri Johnson, were sentenced to probation after after pleading guilty in August to manufacturing marijuana. For their personal use, they insist.

They both resigned from their high school teaching jobs, have felony convictions on their records and might lose their house as a drug asset seizure. However, they haven't lost their teaching licenses yet. State authorities couldn't predict it. Each case is decided on a case by case basis.
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SENTENCED - multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor
Richard Cea, 27, a high school math teacher in Connecticut, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for having sex with one student and raising the grade of another who sent him pictures of himself in her underwear. Both girls were 15-years-old.

In a story on his arrest, they said that the mother found a note in her daughter's bedroom about Cea.

"I can't believe I slept with Cea, EW! Lol But I was drunk and horny what can I do? Lol Still you can't say anything cause you slept with him five times now EW! No it was weird to say the least!"

The three-way sex wasn't mentioned in the sentencing story.
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SENTENCED - (sorta) for sex with student
The newspaper described it as "an affair" but Joseph Tucker, 28, was arrested on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct with a female student and suspicion of tampering with a witness. He pleaded to -degree criminal sexual conduct for which it was thought he would get a 90-day sentence. The judge sentenced him 18 months in prison, but the judge stayed the sentence, ordering him to serve 3 months in the "Workhouse." He has to register as a sex offender. He was married with two children, ages 1 and 3.

The real crime? If he hadn't disobeyed the court instruction not to contact the victim, he would have gotten probation. (Minnesota)
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SENTENCED - (almost) for sex with student
Kevin Burns, 24, another high school math teacher, pleaded guilty to charges of criminal sexual contact and official misconduct for which he was sentenced to three years in prison - stayed while Burns appeals. The appeal? His lawyer said the court ignored the wishes of the victim and his father that he not be sent to prison. The judge ignored their recommendation, but stayed the sentenced until the appeal is heard. (New Jersey) Burns will be a sex offender no matter what.
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SENTENCED - 17 sex-related felony charges
Married to another teacher at the same high school with whom he has a 4-year-old son, Philip Sutliff, 34, was sentenced to 12 years, 8 months after pleading to 17 felony charges for having sex with a student. "He discredited his family, his profession and all those who believed in him," said the father of the victim.
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SENTENCING DELAYED
A plea agreement to two counts of attempted aggravated indecent liberties with a child meant dismissing two counts of indecent solicitation of a child, two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, aggravated criminal sodomy and one count aggravated intimidation of a witness. Humberto Gonzalez, 23, an assistant wrestling coach, would have been sentenced but that has been delayed while he is evaluated. Both his attorney and the prosecution recommended five years probation because Gonzalez had no prior criminal history.

He'll have to register as a sex offender, but it's a first offense, so the victim doesn't count. It's a freebie. (New Jersey)
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One of the first reforms that legislators ought to consider is that first offender status should not be considered in sentencing those convicted of offenses against children.

THE FOLLOWING TEACHERS WERE ARRESTED

Joseph Bradfield, 45. arrested on a weapons charge for bringing a gun onto school property. No details, but he isn't the first teacher to have done so. How the weapon was found and where wasn't mentioned in the story. (IOWA)
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Monica Marshall, 49. In Alabama, a beer-chugging teacher was arrested when she was spotted in her car hoisting a beer bottle to her mouth at a stop light. The car smelled of marijuana and the residue was on her blouse. A search of her car found a smoldering marijuana cigarette and a plastic baggie containing what the officer suspected to be marijuana. She resigned.
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Umesh Ramjattan, 22, a teacher in a New York school, was arrested for sending sexually explicit emails, including one with a picture of him and his girlfriend having sex to three female students. They were 12-years-olds.
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Holly Anna Hatcher, 25, a high school social studies teacher in Tennesse, was arrested for having sex with a 17-year-old male student. She is charged with six counts of statutory rape by an authority figure. It's a pretty safe bet to make with friends that she will get probation.
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GIVING THE BENEFIT OF DOUBT Part I
A student who twice reported Christina Butler, 33, to school authorities was suspended by the school for spreading rumors. That was before the Tampa, Florida, teacher was arrested for having sex with a ninth grade student in her special education class. And it wasn't the school or school district who contacted police. The police stopped a group of male teenagers in her vehicle and one of them blurted the truth out. The mother of the girl who was suspended doesn't think the school even bothered to investigate. So does a lawyer for the 16-year-old boy and the student who tried to get school authorities to act.
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Lawsuits are sometimes the only way to get schools to say they're sorry. Not that they do feel sorry because it's taxpayer money that goes to payouts and doesn't really hurt them individually or financially. And then those confidentiality clauses guarantee that they don't acknowledge wrongdoing and no one is the wiser to the reason why the school or school district was liable. All bought and paid for by your tax dollars.

GIVING THE BENEFIT DOUBT TO COLLEAGUES Part II
In Urbana, Illinois, the parent of one child who originally reported Jonathon Andrew White, a second grade teacher, to authorites, spoke at an evidentiary hearing that will determine what evidence is allowed into the upcoming trial. She contacted the school principal on Nov 2. Her child wasn't interviewed until five days later. White was not removed from the classroom where he had contact with the victim every day, or with what later would be determined to be nine victims, until January of the next year.

It was pure accident that the parent met a police officer's wife and told her of the "banana game" White played with the blindfolded children. White was previously investigated in 2004 and forced to resign at another school.
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APPEALING her FIRING
In Washington, a special education teacher is appealing the district's decision to fire her. A retired judge will decide the issue. But the school thinks she has boundary problems, showed extremely poor professional judgment, and exhibited serious insubordination. When it gets to the point where a 62-year-old teacher is so emotionally involved with a student that she wants to adopt him, there may be a line in the sand.
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UNDERCOUNT OF TEACHER MISCONDUCT CASES
Is a problem in every state for various reasons. At this blog we estimate that we gather less than 1% or 2% of the teacher abuse cases because most are either dismissed by the school after shoddy investigations or don't hit the newspapers and we don't catch every story out there when it is published. So when an Indiana reporter repeated the statistic that there were 17 cases of sexual misconduct with students in five years, we looked at the cases we have profiled.
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QUOTE of the DAY
The school district spokesman in Tampa, Florida, on their new 45-minute in-service training that didn't, apparently, phase Christina Butler one bit.
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TEACHER STRIKE AND ADVOCACY JOURNALISM
A reporter following the two week Seneca Valley, Pennsylvania, teachers strike epitomizes the kind of lazy reporting that makes functioning in a democracy difficult. Thankfully, there's the Internet for taxpayers and voters who really want to know the facts. It isn't malice on the part of the media but it is lazy journalism, especially in the news rooms where those who oversee reporters and edit their material and should send them back to the field with instructions to tell the damned story, don't do that. Possibly because they are sympathetic to the strikers and unions or because they themselves are lazy. We're betting it's sympathy because newspapers have union concerns in their printing plants, political candidates they support that are funded by union "donations" and what they consider in many cases a bond with other "professionals." Either way, the price of a newspaper is still 25 cents to 50 cents. That's about what it's worth - for a month subscription.
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Summary - October 24, 2007

OUTRAGE OF THE DAY
For 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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Summary - Oct 23, 2007

SENTENCED - first degree sexual assault
In New Rochelle, New York, James J. Nieto, 80, was sentenced to 30 years. He was found guilty of of first-degree sexual assault of a victim under 13 and two counts of risk of injury to a minor by a jury in September. The two girls were relatives.
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GUILTY PLEA - 17 counts of taking indecent liberties with a child
Michael Gates, 33, a Virginia teacher, pleaded guilty to 17 felony counts of sexual offense (taking indecent liberties with a child) against a female student. And he's facing charges in another county.
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GUILTY PLEA - possession with intent to distribute
Also in Virginia, Frank "Chip" Rea, 30, a P.E. teacher and coach pleaded guilty to cocaine possession and marijuana possession with the intent to distribute. He'll be sentenced in January.
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GUILTY PLEA
Former Democratic Assemblyman Alfred E. Steele, pleaded guilty to taking bribes while Democratic state assemblyman and current Orange Mayor Mims Hackett Jr. pleaded not guilty in the Pleasantville School District scandal that netted eleven New Jersey officials.
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NOT GUILTY VERDICT
Deana Luedtke, 31, was found not guilty by a jury. She was accused of criminal sexual conduct involving a 13-year-old boy more than four years ago . The jury didn't buy it.
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ARRESTED - Sexual assault on a child by person in a position of trust
A volunteer and a contract employee who taught music and color-guard for five Jefferson County schools was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. The female student is 16-years-old. William Paxton is 42. (Colorado)
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LAWSUIT
The eighth victim has filed a lawsuit against the Beaufort County School District that has already paid out $4.6 million that isn't covered by their insurance carrier. Sometimes a lawsuit is the only way to get people to say they are sorry. So far, no one in the school district seems to understand that concept. (South Carolina)
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Why doesn't this surprise us?
In Brunswick, Maine a 21-year-old Brunswick High School graduate with 18 criminal convictions in the past two years wants to run for the school board.
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Editorial in Hawaii
The Honolulu Star Bulletin responded to the AP series on teacher misconduct that revealed that Hawaii hasn't revoked the credentials of a single teacher for sexual misconduct since 2001. As we noted, they haven't revoked the credentials for any of the drug dealing teachers either. Nor a single teacher for gross incompetence. However, seven teachers lost their licenses because they had stopped paying licensing fees after resigning from their jobs. A little self interest there? The Standards Board is comprised of teachers, administrators and educrats.
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Tougher Penalities
In South Carolina, they're talking about tougher sentencing for teachers and those in authority who molest children. One proposal is to add five years to the sentence that can't be suspended to probation. Must be they finally got around to looking at the number of teachers who got parole or suspended sentences in S.C. courts. It is, however, unlikely that they could add a five-year penalty just because someone was a teacher. Or maybe the purpose is to write a law that won't withstand legal challenges. It's hard to tell.
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Fruit Loops in Maine
A committee school member wants to modify the plan of the Maine middle school that wants to provide birth control pills and patches and abortions to all their students ages 11 to 15. He wants to limit the birth control pills, patches and abortions to those 14 and up. The age of consent in Maine is 14. He also wants parents to have the right to opt out of the program. Of course, an election is next month which ought to be a good indication of how parents feel about the issue.
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Legislative Hearings in Ohio
Have been scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in response to the Columbus Dispatch series "ABCs of Betrayal," a damning portrait of the callous indifference of state education authorities to the rule of law. One immediate result of the series is that the state will put their database of teacher discipline decisions online. That will take care of those cases where a negotiated settlement doesn't include non disclosure clauses. This way, we can see if Ohio teachers who were sentenced have their licenses revoked or not.
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Summary - October 22, 2007

TOP STORY
Pamela Smart is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in the killing of her husband in 1990. She convinced a student to do the dirty deed and he did with the help of two friends. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He is petitioning for a reduction in sentence. At the time of the murder, he was 15. Billy Flynn is now 33. Gregory Smart was 24 when Flynn shot and killed him. Pamela's woes in prison make you believe there really is justice. (New Hampshire)
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GUILTY PLEA - first-degree criminal sexual conduct
In Minnesota, Troy Michael Bernard, 35, a middle school teacher, pleaded guilty to a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for having sexual relations with a student for nearly a year, beginning when the girl was 14. He will be sentenced in January.
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ARRESTED - Sexual misconduct with a minor
A Kennewick, Washington teacher who resigned in 1998 and worked as a substitute in Kennewick schools was arrested, accused of two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor for sex with a 16 - 17 year-old male student. William Pickerel, 72, worked in the schools for over 40 years.
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ARRESTED - felony sexual-assault charges
He lives and works in Ohio and teaches in Columbus, but Jason Crary, 36, was arrested for sexual offenses alleged to have been committed in Milwaukee when he worked there in the 1990s. The boy's soccer coach as the school resigned three days ago when his past was revealed.
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RESIGNED
A Smiths Station High School teacher has resigned after being asked to to do so after allegations of inappropriate contact with a student. He has not been charged, but police and the school are investigating.
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VIOLATING TERMS OF HIS PROBATION
He was given probation in order to repay $100,000 he embezzled. He's only paid back $6,000. That puts Wayne Kruse in violation of the terms of his parole. Of course, the money was stolen from the Lawrence Education Association. The union doesn't seem to have minded that the former union president has made no restitution since 2005. (Kansas)
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Background checks are flawed - New Hampshire AP story
Among the findings, "Criminal and education records effectively sanitized through plea-bargains and other negotiations." Yeah. We observed that, too, in just about every state.
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North Jersey teacher sex arrests up
Thoughtful companion piece to the Associated Press series at the the Record.
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Teacher Misconduct Denied
By Herald Bulletin in Indiana. Teacher union officials are quoted extensively. And exclusively. Conclusion: misconduct is rare. We would spell out B.S. but we're family friendly, but it is B.S. We point out a lot of these "rare" misconduct cases.
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Summary - October 19, 2007

SENTENCED (sorta)
If you consider 3 years probation and sex offender treatment and a $1,000 fine for three counts of forcible sexual abuse, all second-degree felonies for sex with a 17-year-old boy punishment, then Christy Brown, 33, was sentenced. (Utah)
As we said, "Three years probation, a $1,000 fine and sex offender treatment. Why not just give her a Teacher of the Year Who Violates a Student Achievement award?"
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SENTENCED (sorta)
Joshua Jacobsen, 31, got 9 months in jail - not prison - and lifetime probation. He will also have to register as a sex offender. He was arrested last year, accused of abusing one of his students beginning when she was just 13. He wants to "move forward." (Arizona)
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GUILTY VERDICT - felony first-degree sexual abuse and misdemeanor child endangerment
We were outraged when he was arrested. The mother was told that David Heil, 43, would never teach again by the school district. However, school administrators and the teachers union negotiated a deal that eventually sent him to another school. When the mother found out in 2006, she went to police. A jury found David Heil guilty. Assistant District Attorney Douglas Randall, who told jurors during his summation that school officials double-crossed the boy's mother and lied to her. But you absolutely won't believe what the school district says.
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ARRESTED - firearms on school property
The story is so incomplete that you are left with more questions than answers. Danny Hoover, Jr., 36, principal of Wirt County Middle School, was arrested for bringing firearms to the school. It didn't make sense to us either. We're looking for more stories.
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ARRESTED - Sex with 14-year-old student
In Van Nuys, California, Merideth Vincent, 40, a teacher of a private home schooling group, was arrested, accused of having sex with a 14-year-old male student. You got to be desperate to hit on kids.
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ARRESTED - giving students pain prescription drugs
Barbara Trotta, 38, a special education teacher in Oregon, was arrested, accused of giving three students students prescription pain pills and allegedly excused at least one student from class and allowed that student to use her personal vehicle to pick up additional drugs.
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CHARGED - domestic violence
Every time we post a story about a teacher who is arrested and accused of drunk driving or domestic violence we get e-mail protesting that it doesn't affect his job. Our reply is that he can be the greatest teacher in the world, but students know about the arrest. And what they will learn from how school authorities respond will constitute an important life lesson. (Pennsylvania)
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JUDGE REJECTS PLEA AGREEMENT
There are good judges in this country. In Indiana, a judge rejected a plea agreement that would have allowed John Watts, 28, to plead guilty to one count of sexual misconduct with a minor, a felony, and receive a sentence of six years in prison with all suspended, be placed on probation for six years and serve one year of home confinement. He had been charged with 23 counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and they have his confession on tape as well as an admission to having sex with another student. Did we mention the girl was 14-years-old?
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SPECIAL PAY PLAN for TEACHERS - doing their job
In Iowa, the state Supreme Court ruled that that school districts will have to bargain with teachers who work "a full load of classes." That means anyone who actually teaches over -- a whole five hours a day -- must be given extra compensation. Absolutely absurd.
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WATCHING THE WATCHERS who definitely need watching
In Virginia, the Associated Press is pleased to report, the state Department of Education is, based on an Associated Press investigation, going to look to tighten teacher licensing system. Looking at the system, apparently, doesn't include looking at the one place responsible for license revocation - the state Department of Education.
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SCHOOL BOARD WATCH
A grand jury indictment has led to the arrest of former school-board president, Keith Crego, 37, and the former superintendent, Leslye Abrutyn, 58, on a combined 22 felony charges and 21 misdemeanors. It's a great story of sex, corruption, disgraceful inaction, and the reporter seemed kinda fascinated by what these people wore to court.
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