Posted on 10/22/2006 3:55:05 PM PDT by Publius
She was 10 years old, a fourth-grader in the Northshore School District, when John Carl Leede began fondling her, according to court records.
He was a teacher, but not hers. He would spy her in the school library, approach, turn her away from him and begin grabbing, rubbing her breasts. She'd try to break away, but he would yank her back and put her in a kind of headlock.
The girl told her mother, and the mother called the principal, Ed Young.
It all could have ended there — in the spring of 1996, years before Leede was finally convicted of assaulting girls. Young, the principal at Kokanee Elementary near Woodinville, could have investigated and found other students with similar stories.
Instead, Young called the girl to his office. When she got there, she found the principal and Leede, and no one else. Not her mother. Not a counselor. Young questioned her — and Leede explained it all away. A "misplaced hug," he called it, saying he was a "touchy-feely" kind of guy.
Young didn't discipline Leede. He didn't report the matter to police or Child Protective Services. He didn't even write the girl's story down and file it, to help spot any pattern. His next evaluation of Leede offered only praise, saying: "I have appreciated his professionalism and efforts in helping us 'move outside the box.'"
The girl's mother was stunned at Young's response. The girl would later tell police: "This was brushed under the table." She would become violent and defiant, say Leede was what she got for being "a good girl," and scratch her wrists with broken glass.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
From the article:
A father saw Leede touch his daughter's breast in a school hallway. The newspaper isn't naming the father to protect his daughter's identity, but he gave this account:
He told Leede then and there: "If you ever touch my daughter like that again, one of us is going to the hospital and one of us is going to jail." That night, the father said, "I was in tears for not protecting my daughter better." He met with Young the next day, and Young told him: I'll take care of it. You don't need to put anything in writing. But later, the father said, Young claimed he couldn't do anything without a written complaint.
The girl's mother also met with Young. "Ed said that Carl had a clean file, that ... nobody had ever complained about him," she later told police.
After these meetings, Young sent Leede a note: Hi Carl, The personnel office sent us some pamphlets on safe interaction with students. After talking with you last week in regard to [the parents'] concern about you hugging their daughter, I thought that you may want to take a look at it. ...
January: The father who had met with Young in October turned in a written grievance: "I told him, 'Here's your bloody complaint. Now do something.' " The letter said Leede was still hugging children. Young wrote the father back: "I have spoken with him about your concerns and advised him on the district's policy on safe and appropriate touching. ... The inappropriate behavior will stop."
Young later described his talk with Leede to a district investigator: "I told him, 'You cannot hug from the front' and showed him the side hug."
The Seattle Times reporter (I'm assuming it was Ken Armstrong who authored this piece) who uncovered all of this deserves a Pulitzer or AP award or something.
District settles harassment lawsuit; Psychologist wins $127,500 from Appoquinimink schools.
The way the schools are these days, it'll be your daughters in the cruiser and expelled to boot for attacking the teacher. The victim is always the one who gets it.
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