KUSA — As five current and former East High School leaders face charges for failing to report an alleged sexual assault on a student, a Denver Public Schools statement claims officials did notify police -- though their description of what occurred contains some unusual language.
“Denver Public Schools has a confidential student record from March 2016 made at the time by school personnel at East High School stating that there was a conferral with the Denver police regarding this matter,” the Denver Public Schools statement sent to 9NEWS on Thursday reads. “A notation memorializing the conferral with the Denver Police was entered on the same date.”
9NEWS has asked Denver Public Schools whether the “notation memorializing the conferral” meets their legal requirement to protect children, and will provide an update when they clarify what this means.
The five current and former East High School employees facing charges for allegedly violating Colorado’s mandatory reporting law following the alleged March 2016 assault are:
- Andy Mendelsberg, 50, who retired as East’s principal last fall in the face of the alleged coverup of complaints that a cheerleading coach had physically abused students while forcing them to do the splits.
- Vice Principal Jann Peterson, 60
- Dean Eric Sinclair, 38
- Dean Jennifer Sculley, 49
- Counselor Anita Curtiss, 37
According to court documents obtained by 9Wants to Know, despite repeated contacts with the victim and over parents over more than a year, none of the administrators told police about the alleged assault.
One of them allegedly told the girl the incident was “their little secret,” the documents say.
According to the documents, the incident was not reported to police until East’s current principal, John Youngquist, shared the allegations with a school resource officer. The documents suggest that the violation of the mandatory reporting law began March 14, 2016, when the girl reported the incident to East administrators, and continued until Nov. 14, 2017, when it was finally reported to Denver Police.
Each of the five administrators are scheduled to appear in court on May 16.
You can read the full statement from Denver Public Schools below:
Denver Public Schools has a confidential student record from March 2016 made at the time by school personnel at East High School stating that there was a conferral with the Denver police regarding this matter. A notation memorializing the conferral with the Denver Police was entered on the same date.
Denver Public Schools has a responsibility to maintain confidentiality, to be respectful of individuals’ rights to privacy, and to be thorough and thoughtful in ensuring due process is followed. DPS will continue to work closely with police and the District Attorney. We’re not in a position to discuss more at this time.
