Posted on 04/04/2006 1:58:07 AM PDT by leadpenny
Parents, P.I. suggest county brushed them off
A private investigator claims that Courtland High School's administration was slow to respond to accusations of sexual misconduct on the part of special education teacher Bonnie Sue Davis.
School officials assert that they followed proper protocol.
Davis, 35, is accused of sexual misconduct with two Courtland High boys, ages 14 and 15.
Ralph Bennett, private investigator and proprietor of R&R Bennett Inc. in Fredericksburg, said he found out about the allegations through a friend of his family. He began a pro bono investigation shortly thereafter, he said.
The parents of the two boys reported the allegations to Courtland Principal Michael Bedwell on Feb. 17 and Feb. 20, Bennett said.
"Two parents complained to the principal and were told it was not an issue," he said.
Bennett's family friend, whose son knows the two alleged victims, contacted Bennett out of frustration, he said.
"I couldn't believe she had to come to me," he said.
Bennett said Bedwell should have contacted the Sheriff's Office rather than keeping the investigation in-house. He said an alarm should sound anytime criminal activity is alleged.
"They're educators, not investigators," said Bennett, who retired after 22 years with the Prince William County Police Department.
But according to Spotsylvania County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Brenda Seals, Bedwell investigated the incident appropriately based on what he could learn at the time.
"The principal investigated the situation and concluded that the boy liked the teacher and that there had not been any outside contact with any of the students [on Davis' part]. She only provided tutorial services to the students after school at the school," Seals said.
She added that Bedwell interviewed Davis as well, who also denied any wrongdoing.
Both Seals and Bennett said that the boys at first denied any sexual contact with Davis when Bedwell met with them Feb. 17.
Bennett began looking into the matter a month after Bedwell's investigation--on March 17.
He said he interviewed both boys, and began double-checking the details they provided him.
He said the boys told him that Davis tutored them after school on Fridays, he said, and had presented one boy with an iPod and the other with a diamond earring. One of the two boys claims he had sex with Davis on five separate occasions, always after a Friday tutoring session, Bennett said. The second boy was present during one of the sexual encounters, he alleged.
Bennett said he confirmed many of the things the boys said about Davis--including what kind of car and dog she had and the location of her home. Bennett said he also looked at the boys' cell phone records, which revealed that they had spoken with Davis.
On March 17, Bedwell reported a violation of School Board policy about staff visiting students' homes to Human Resources, said Sara Branner, spokesman for the school system.
At that point, Bedwell contacted one of the boys' parents to set up a meeting, but later canceled because of a scheduling conflict, according to Seals. When Bedwell tried to reschedule the meeting for March 23, the mother refused to meet with him, she said.
"The principal had difficulty doing any further investigation because the parent refused to meet with him," Seals said.
Seals said she reported the alleged violation to Loraine Lemoine, department head at Spotsylvania Social Services, on March 27.
Bennett said he contacted the Spotsylvania County Sheriff's Office on March 20. Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely contacted Bennett on March 24. Bennett presented Neely with the results of his investigation in a meeting the same day. The Sheriff's Office then began investigating the matter, Bennett said.
Davis was arrested Thursday night and charged with two counts of sodomy, six counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and one count of having sex with a child.
At an arraignment in Spotsylvania County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court yesterday, a judge set Davis' bond at $5,000. She was released from the Rappahannock Regional Jail yesterday afternoon, after spending the weekend in jail.
The terms of the bond forbid Davis to have any contact with the teenage boys, Neely said. A preliminary hearing is set for 11 a.m. May 26 in juvenile court.
Davis has worked for the Spotsylvania school system for six years but has now been suspended.
Spotsylvania detectives have searched Davis' home in the county's Ruffins Pond subdivision to photograph the layout of the house and the contents of the residence.
Defense attorney Phillip Sasser is representing Davis, Neely said. Stuart Sullivan, Neely's top assistant, is prosecuting the case.
From 1999 to 2001, Davis was a special education teacher at Lee Hill Elementary School. At Courtland High School since 2001, she focused primarily on mathematics instruction.
Police say none of the alleged activity took place at the school.
To reach MELISSA NIX: 540/374-5418 Email: mnix@freelancestar.com
fyi
Waiting for the LaFave apologists to start posting.
"Man, when I was 14 I would have banged anything that moved, not guilty, no crime here."
I wonder how long her marriage will last?
It's possible that both things are true.
If her husband had an ounce of self-respect, it would already be over.
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.