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WISD officials may establish new protocol following alleged sexual abuse of young student by a teacher

By Tommy Witherspoon Tribune-Herald staff writer

Friday March 26,2010

Waco school officials might form child abuse response teams or establish stricter protocols to guide their reactions in the wake of the apparent mishandling of an alleged molestation case, two school board members said Thursday.

The Waco school board has called a special meeting for Saturday to review the incident and change district policy, if board members deem it necessary.

The alleged assaults at Alta Vista Montessori Magnet School were reported Nov. 30, 2009, to Waco police, when a parent claimed her 5-year-old child was molested at school by a kindergarten teacher.

School officials immediately suspended teacher Fernando Campos while district administrators investigated.

But they put him back to work just before winter break — against the advice of a Waco police detective investigating the allegations and Child Protective Services authorities.

School district officials concluded there was insufficient evidence to support the child’s claims.

Waco police Detective Fabian Klecka arrested Campos on Monday at the school on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a child and improper relationship between an educator and a student.

Waco school board members Pat Atkins and David Schleicher said Thursday much of Saturday’s board meeting might be held behind closed doors because of confidentiality, personnel and privacy issues.

However, among the things both want to know is why board members didn’t know about the serious allegations until minutes after Campos was arrested, more than three months after the first reports were levied and two months after school officials met with CPS authorities.

“This is the kind of issue that plays to every parent’s deepest, darkest concerns,” Atkins said. “Should the administration be handling criminal investigations? That is a valid question. We need to take a hard look at how we handle these allegations, and we need to ensure that student safety is the primary concern.”

Atkins and Schleicher both want to know why Campos was allowed back in the classroom when Waco police had an open investigation and why Alta Vista Principal Rochelle Peters was involved in conducting interviews with the alleged victim’s classmates and others.

“But setting aside this particular incident,” Atkins said, “there is a bigger question of policies and procedures and how we handle these issues in the future to make sure we are going to err on the side of protecting students.”

Schleicher suggests the district might appoint a child abuse response team to handle future allegations.

Or, perhaps develop a “flow chart” system “so it is very clear what everyone’s responsibilities are, what steps need to be taken, who they report to and when they need to report it.”

“I would like to get an initial idea about what happened and how we are going to handle the next one,” Schleicher said.

After a string of at least four educators were prosecuted for sex-related crimes, Assistant District Attorney Beth Toben told the Tribune-Herald three years ago that local officials need to join forces to develop a uniform protocol about how to handle these types of investigations.

School officials who try to conduct their own investigation often “muddy the waters” through the use of ineffective and often harmful techniques, such as interviewing the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator together in the same room, or interviewing the child in front of his or her parents, Toben said in October 2007.

Toben and McLennan County District Attorney John Segrest declined comment.

David Davis, executive director of the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children, said 19 local police agencies, including the Waco ISD police, signed agreements with his agency to use uniform policies and procedures when certain crimes are alleged.

The 5-year-old girl alleged to have been abused by Campos was interviewed at the advocacy center.

The best practice to employ in those cases, Davis said, is to take a “multidisciplinary approach” that involves police investigators, counselors, prosecutors, CPS workers and other child advocates.

That apparently is not what happened in the Campos case, Davis said.

“Our organization exists because those two-track kinds of investigations are rarely successful. But if you are on an integrated track, then you can move forward and make better decisions,” he said.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

“But setting aside this particular incident,” Atkins said, “there is a bigger question of policies and procedures and how we handle these issues in the future to make sure we are going to err on the side of protecting students.”

Hey, I have an idea! How about checking these teachers out BEFORE you hire them? Oh, and if they are members of the union, how about parents suing the unions as well as the schools.

Waco school officials might form child abuse response teams or establish stricter protocols to guide their reactions in the wake of the apparent mishandling of an alleged molestation case, two school board members said Thursday.

Let me translate: "We screwed this one up horribly. So, the next time a 3rd grade girl sees a 3rd grade boy's uncovered ankle, we'll suspend him and put him on a sexual offenders list.