A pair of assistant directors in a California the high school has been charged with child abuse for failing to report repeated sexual assaults by a student against three of his underage classmates last year, police said.
David Shenhan Young, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, about 50 miles east of Los Angelesafter a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations of the three high school students.
The victims, two aged 15 and one 16, police say they told Young and Harris that they were attacked by an unidentified student, aged 17, several times on school grounds, a criminal complaint was filed Wednesday.
David Shenhan Young, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, after a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations of the three high school students.
One of the victims turned to officers in September – five months before police were notified of the charges – cops said, while another appeared in November.
According to cops, both officers then failed to report suspected cases to school services or law enforcement.
According to the complaint, “no notification was made to the Rialto Police Department until February 16” – at which point the department immediately began investigating the allegations.
The two were arrested on Wednesday during school hours, and both were handcuffed, taken out of the building and taken to a nearby detention center.
Both officers are now facing charges of criminal violence against children for failing to report incidents, as well as two charges of failing to report child abuse or neglect.
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The couple was detained during school hours on Wednesday, and both were handcuffed from the building and taken to a nearby detention center.
They are currently being held on $ 150,000 bail and are scheduled to appear in court for the first time on Thursday afternoon, police records show.
An unnamed 17-year-old suspect is being investigated separately, police said, facing charges of sexual assault.
“In this case, the failure of assistant principals to report sexual violence on their campus undermines the trust that students and parents must have in the safety and protection of all children they care for,” District Attorney Jason Anderson said of the case. , which was first published by the Rialto Police Department on Tuesday.
“Their failure as authorized reporters to inform law enforcement led to further victimization of two students and sexual assault on a third victim, which was preventable.”
One of the victims turned to officers in September, five months before police were notified of the charges, cops said, while another appeared in November.
According to a statement from the Rialto Police Department on Tuesday, authorities were informed earlier this month that the 17-year-old student had sexually assaulted one of the alleged victims – one of the 15-year-old students – several times on campus over three months last year.
However, as the investigation progressed, detectives said they had learned that the same suspect had also been accused of sexually assaulting two other alleged victims, aged 15 and 16, last year.
The original victim reported Harris and Young’s sexual violence three months ago, in November, prosecutors said. Another victim reported the assault to both officers in September, while a third did not report her case to school staff, the San Bernardino District Attorney’s Office said.
Outraged parents demanded action from the school district over the alleged negligence of staff on Tuesday, convening a board meeting urging staff to face the consequences. The assistant directors were arrested the next day
According to police, the suspected teenager, who was not expelled from school, was also investigated and was recently quoted and released from custody until his parents were charged.
In addition, the department revealed on Tuesday that “the reason for the delay in reporting by school staff to the police department is also under investigation.”
Prosecutors, meanwhile, say Harris and Young, as school administrators, were required by state law to immediately report allegations of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement officials, and therefore the charges against them.
The Rialto Joint School District responded to the scandal in a statement Wednesday, saying school officials would continue their own internal investigation into the allegations and why they had not been reported earlier.
Outraged parents demanded action from the school district for alleged negligence by staff, storming a board meeting Tuesday night to demand consequences. The meeting took place just hours before the two were detained on Wednesday during school hours and taken out of the building in handcuffs. They were eventually taken to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Central Detention Center.
Parents also staged protests in front of the school, urging staff to take action.
Authorities have not yet released further details about the alleged attacks or the investigation into the suspect.
Young and Harris face up to six years in prison for alleged crimes.