Hmmmm.... I don't think so.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
it was probably sarcasm)
Posted on 11/03/2005 5:59:08 AM PST by Sam's Army
TAMPA - Monday's arrest of a Wharton High School basketball coach accused of having a sexual relationship with one of her players raises the question: How can such serious allegations take months from a parent's complaint to an arrest?
The bottom line, Hillsborough County school officials say, is the school district never really investigated the claim made in March that Jaymee Lane Wallace, 28, had the relationship.
Nor did the district report possible child abuse to law enforcement, said Linda Kipley, general manager of Hillsborough schools' office of professional standards.
"This is very unusual," Kipley said Wednesday. "We opened an investigation, but we could not follow through."
Wallace, who is married to a fellow math teacher at Wharton, is accused of having an 18-month sexual relationship with the student, now 17.
Wallace coached at Wharton since 1999. She led the girls varsity basketball team to two district titles.
Several of Wallace's players told police they knew about a relationship, but the district never uncovered the secret.
Here is how Kipley outlined the events leading to Wallace's surrender to police Monday:
In late February or early March, a mother complained to Wharton Principal George Gaffney about Wallace's treatment of her daughter concerning grades, as well as rumors that Wallace was having an inappropriate relationship with another female student.
Gaffney then talked to the student the woman named and her mother. Both denied the claim. He also contacted Kipley's office, which investigates accusations of misconduct by employees.
Soon after, the mother who made the original complaint again contacted Gaffney, who called Kipley again.
Kipley's office began an investigation by contacting the woman who made the complaint. The woman said she could document the affair but didn't show for a March 30 appointment with the investigator. He called her to reschedule, but she never did.
On April 5, the investigator wrote the woman, telling her he would "inactivate the investigation" if he did not hear from her by April 15.
Kipley "chose not to close the case -- we left it open so that we could monitor it."
In late June or early July, Gaffney called Kipley to say he heard someone was going to be contacting law enforcement about the issue. Kipley's office then called Tampa police and confirmed they received a complaint.
Who made the complaint to police is not clear.
"Once law enforcement is involved, we back out," Kipley said. "That is our district practice. We don't want to impede their investigation."
State law requires school personnel who know of or have reasonable cause to suspect child abuse to report it to the proper authorities. In this case, that would be law enforcement, Kipley said.
Tampa police stopped short of criticizing the district for not reporting the alleged abuse.
"The sooner we know about the possibility of suspicious behavior, the sooner we can investigate and prevent a child from being victimized further or prevent another child from being victimized," said Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.
School board attorney Tom Gonzales said, "The district did the right thing."
The original complaint was based on secondhand information, he said. "When the principal talked to the parent and the kid, they said, 'No way.' I think you've got to have a victim."
"Without a victim, it wouldn't be reasonable to start asking other students questions," Gonzalez said. "That's unfair to the teacher, and it might spread more slander."
The district questioned the motive behind the original complaint -- the woman's daughter was believed to be dating the alleged victim, Kipley said.
Kipley wrote Wallace on July 12, notifying her the district was aware she was under investigation by Tampa police and told her not to report to work when teachers returned July 27. Wallace was told to make an appointment with Kipley, which she did.
On July 19, correspondence shows Wallace, her husband and attorney Jose Concepcion met with Kipley, and Wallace was reassigned to work in Kipley's office.
Wallace did general clerical work in the employee processing area until she surrendered on an arrest warrant charging her with lewd and lascivious battery, a second-degree felony. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison.
The next step for Wallace would be a recommendation to the board for suspension pending the outcome of her case, Kipley said. The next board meeting is Tuesday.
Talk about "Fishing off the company pier"...!
That's because the coach is a member of a liberal-approved, perpetually-aggrieved-victim class. Besides, isn't this what the sexual-perversity advocates have been screaming for all along??
The article goes out of its way to avoid saying anything about "same-sex" relationships.
This makes the story much harder to understand.
It seems that a female teacher is married (since they say married, I presume it is to a man).
The female teacher was found to be having a sexual relationship with a female student.
Another female student's mother complained that her daughter got a bad grade because of this relationship.
The school basically stopped acting on the complaint because the victim and the teacher denied the relationship (isn't the whole idea of these laws that the children DON'T tell people, and why would the teacher confess to a crime).
The girl who complained was in a relationship with the girl who was having sex with the teacher.
Nothing to see here -- move on, move along....
Hmmmm.... I don't think so.
Owl_Eagle
(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
You're right. Coach Butch will probably get a promotion.
one wonders why the parents didn't go to the cops themselves, and instead relied on the school system to investigate itself.
when my kid was in junior high, one kid had the habit of breaking hard things on other kids, usually causign injury. when i met with the principal about it, I was assured that the school system would and could handle things. I informed him that should any harm come to my kid, that I would let the police notify them, not the other way around.
the offending kid was kept clear of my kid.
That reeks of psycho.
You're right. Coach Butch will probably get a promotion.
Nah, she's going to be the new coach of the local dominatrix team.
A player-coach, obviously.
A player-coach, obviously.
She'll "whip" them into shape.
Self-ping for reference to use against moronic Illinois School District U-46 later
The DA here in York County cited the York City School District last year because they failed to report a middle
school gym teacher who was wearing tight shorts and rubbing
himself against girls. The district did its own investigation, then did nothing to the teacher. The parents
went to the police then. The guy got arrested and the
school district cited. The school board howled and moaned
about it. The accused gym teacher is married to a principal
in the same school district.
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
Another teacher molests student - homosexual in nature. Note how articles skirts around. No pun intended.
If only teachers were allowed to get married. Oh, she was married...
Freepmail me AND DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off this pinglist.
Note: Friends don't let friends put their kids in public school.
So rather than get help for her daughter the mom complains that her daughter's lesbian friend is two timing her with a teacher? Why didn't she get her kid into reparative therapy also?
"Susie, do you like
TV shows about girls who
are gladiators?"
Bader Ginsberg would approve!!!
The Lawless-ness of it all!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.