Mifflin High Principal Fired

Columbus Public Schools ^ | April 14, 2005 | Kerretarded

[Eagle of Liberty]

Mifflin High principal fired

Official should have called police after sexual assault on student, board says

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Bill Bush THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The Columbus Board of Education fired a high-school principal last night who failed to call police after learning that a female student had been sexually assaulted by four male students last month in the school auditorium.

The board voted unanimously to place Regina Crenshaw on unpaid leave from her $95,300-a-year post at Mifflin High School starting today and to begin terminating her contract.

Crenshaw could not be reached after the meeting.

Three assistant principals — Vincent Clarno, Suzie Retterer-Helfrich and Richard Watson — were given 10-day, unpaid suspensions and will be assigned to other schools when they return.

"We were very concerned about the actions that were taken — or lack of actions that were taken — by the administrative team, and particularly the principal," Superintendent Gene Harris said.

The parents, police, Franklin County Children Services and district administrators should have been notified immediately, Harris said, with the order depending on the situation.

"Our administrators must use some common sense," Harris said. "There are some situations where the first entity that would be notified would be the lawenforcement agency."

On March 9, a 16-year-old girl told school officials she had been sexually assaulted by four male students in the Mifflin auditorium. The girl’s father had to call the police himself and take his daughter, who is developmentally disabled, to Grant Medical Center.

Police said that the assault occurred about 1:15 p.m., and that her father was at the Northeast Side school, 3245 Oak Spring St., by about 2:30 p.m. Detective Mary Harrison, of the Columbus police sex-abuse squad, said an investigative report will be turned over to prosecutors within two weeks.

bbush@dispatch.com

[SE Mom]

For me, the most disturbing thing about this is the dozens of kids cheering the rapists on.

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I must have missed this part- has it been reported? Unbelievable.

[Eagle of Liberty]

Anyone have facts on the race of the vic, perps, Regina and the members of the Board?

I cannot find any info on this. Been looking. It is actually pretty hard to find out any info on this case, or on Columbus Public Schools for that matter.

[Eagle of Liberty]

Another link:

http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/ap/o/51/04-12-2005/73920006b6664fc4.html

[SE Mom]

Never mind- I found this:

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http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/11375554.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp

Posted on Tue, Apr. 12, 2005

Witnesses: Teen assaulted on videotape

Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A 16-year-old disabled girl was punched and forced to engage in videotaped sexual acts with several boys in a high school auditorium as dozens of students watched, according to witnesses.

Authorities are investigating and no charges have been filed in the alleged attack last month at Mifflin High School. Four boys suspected of involvement were sent home and have not returned to class.

Also, the principal, Regina Crenshaw, was suspended and will be fired for not calling police, school officials said. And three assistant principals were suspended and will be reassigned to other schools. Crenshaw had no comment Tuesday.

The girl was forced to perform oral sex on at least two boys, according to statements from school officials, obtained by The Columbus Dispatch. Part of the alleged assault was videotaped by a student who had a camera for a school project.

School officials found the girl bleeding from the mouth. An assistant principal cautioned the girl's father against calling 911 to avoid media attention, the statements said. The girl's father called police.

Her father said the girl is developmentally disabled. A special education teacher said the teen has a severe speech impediment.

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© 2005 AP Wire and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.contracostatimes.com

[brytlea]

Which makes you wonder doesn't it? Why does a school today need three vice principals when most schools operate under "zero-tolerance"?
One reason we have so many vice principals is because they do alot of other stuff these days. We had a Principal and 2 VPs at my last school (it was small, about 800 kids or so in all 4 grades). One of them was a friend of mine (he was who I always sent discipline problems to if possible and he worked like a dog, always ate lunch at his desk because he was fielding calls and dealing with kids and parents. However, he also was in charge of Driver's Ed (lots of paperwork and such), the Busses, and other things I can't even remember. Now, we had other principals during my time there who I thought were a waste of chair space. But this guy worked hard (and had a very good relationship with students/parents and teachers). And he was tough as a bulldog, gave no quarter to student or parent garbage.
susie

[SE Mom]

Whoops- should I have posted this as I did? Not sure if it should have been excerpted?? Sorry.

[meandog]

My bet is that fromer principal Regina is of the minority persuasion and that this fact, in inself, has always been sufficient to cover any lapse in judgment. The assistant principals had damn well better do what she says, or else

...check out the website and draw your conclusions (note the quick change of staff):

http://www.columbus.k12.oh.us/mifflin_high/

[Lizavetta]

I believe in education circles it's called, "passing the trash."

It's also called the "dance of the lemons".

[dljordan]

"For me, the most disturbing thing about this is the dozens of kids cheering the rapists on. Any idea of decency and the imperative not to hurt the vulnerable seems to have been killed in these young people."

They were just expressing themselves and building self-esteem. If I had been there I would have busted some heads and wound up in jail for sure.

[uvular]

Someone opined on another thread about this that they are reluctant to expel students, as they would lose gov't $. They're already losing $ from families that flee for the suburbs. Great reasoning, huh? Safety of their students be damned. Minority school or not, this is an outrage.

[ladylib]

I've heard that expression too, but I think "passing the trash" is particulary appropriate in this case.

[Eagle of Liberty]

Mifflin High School is located in Precinct 7, subprecinct 72. Can't find a police report on this incident on March 9, 2005.

http://www.columbuspolice.org

Go to "offense reports" button.

[najida]

They all need jail time!

And never, ever, EVER to be allowed to work around children again.

[najida]

They all need jail time!

And never, ever, EVER to be allowed to work around children again.

[Maria S]

"Anyone have facts on the race of the vic, perps,"


One of the callers to Glenn Beck said she felt lucky she lived in a suburb of Columbus, and would NEVER her kids to go to the school in question. She said the students were mainly 'minority' (how can the majority be the minority?)...I understood what she was saying. She said she thought the incident(s) was being played down because so many people were ALREADY fleeing the Columbus school system and those in charge didn't want to lose more students. And there were lots of gangs, too, and the rape was not an isolated incident. (Probably someone's afraid of the ACLU, too...not to mention the NEA)

This is a shameful indictment of how our wonderful national school system works! Especially in areas where there is a huge need for a good education...

[uvular]

610 WTVN from Columbus finally reported on this. They asked police why taking so long; LE said the investigation is intense and time-consuming and if it takes longer than folks think, so be it.

Does it sound like this may be another case of Sgt. Schultz disease-I saw nothing? How can that be, if LE has possession (do they?) of the video tape?

[SE Mom]

A 16-year-old disabled girl was punched and forced to engage in videotaped sexual acts with several boys in a high school auditorium as dozens of students watched, according to witnesses.

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This is so unbelievable I simply can't wrap my mind around it...

[Ignatz]

Actually, whoever is answering phone calls at the HS right now are saying that no rape took place.

Duh! Where were you in the 1990's? That's when we defined oral-genital contact as not being sex (of course, nothing is free: in changing the definition of "sex", we had to give up the definition of "is"), therefore no rape took place. [/sarcasm]

[Dan from Michigan]

Good riddance.