Sparta High School student charged with sexual misconduct

SPARTA - Police charged a township 16-year-old earlier this month with fourth-degree sexual contact in connection with an incident involving another student at Sparta High School. The defendant, whose name is being withheld because of his age, is due to appear in family court. High school officials notified police after conducting an in-house investigation at the time of the female complaint, April 4, said Sparta Principal Richard Lio. “We followed procedure,” said Lio. “As soon as we found out we had enough information, we turned it over to our SRO (Security Resource Officer). At that point, it’s in police hands.” A security resource officer from the Sparta police force is stationed at the high school throughout each day. “It’s in the hands of the police,” said Lio. “As soon as the police have it, it’s in the court system and we sit on the sidelines observing until a decision is made as to what we can and can not do.” During the April 10 meeting of the board of education, some members and residents questioned what the adminsitration knew about the charges and when it found out. Lio, who was at an in-district workshop on Friday, April 7, when the charges were announced, said he was caught off-guard by the decision because police had not contacted him. Police Chief Ernie Reigstad said there are instances when the department does not communicate with school officials until an investigation is complete. But he insisted that once the juvenile was in custody and charges were brought, his department reached out to high school administrators. Reigstad said the communication failure “could have been a misunderstanding.” Superintendent Thomas Morton, who was attending the out-of-district workshop the Friday the charges were filed, did not learn of the charges being filed until the following Monday, April 10. The apparent break in the chain of communication left some residents dismayed. “It’s like the kid telling the teacher the dog ate the homework,” said one resident. “To sit here and tell us you don’t know anything about it, how could this be?” Morton said three of the high school’s administrators were on vacation that Monday, when school was closed for spring break. He said Kathleen Monks, assistant superintendent for curriculum and development, answers for the superintendent in his absence. She was in her office on the Friday when the charges were field. “We’re not going to speculate until we know the facts,” said school board president David Slavin, who insisted the matter would be brought up in closed session. Some school board members believe district administrators are inappropriately keeping information out of the loop on matters of student misconduct. In a similar case, school officials investigated another student back in March for possessing a pen knife, which Morton called about the “half-size of a pinky.” It wasn’t until board member Linda Curcio learned in public of the incident that the investigation come to the attention of the board of education. “We are in the dark,” said Johnson. “It’s not a matter of hiding something; it’s a matter of being open.” Morton maintained the investigation was a police matter and he chose not to inform the school board of the incident. Police never charged the student involved in that incident.