HAINES CITY, Fla. — The dean of students at Ridge Community High School is facing a felony charge and a misdemeanor charge for failure to report abuse and resisting without violence.
Kevin Sanford, 38, is accused of not reporting a criminal sexual abuse between two students. The criminal offense was allegedly reported on May 28 after one student accused another of sexual abuse.
Haines City police said the alleged victim's mother contacted Sanford the same day of the incident and was told that he would call her back after a review of the video of the reported campus incident.
After not hearing back by the end of the day, police said the mother called back and was told Sanford had left for the day. The mother said that's when she decided to take her daughter to the emergency room.
Police said they were made aware of the alleged incident through the Lake County emergency room the same day.
Police contacted Sanford at the high school the following day and said he "became physically irate" and "argumentative." He also failed to give important information related to criminal sexual conduct, according to police.
He admitted he did not notify law enforcement and said he didn't finish his investigation since it was the end of the day, police say.
Sanford did not talk further with detectives about the incident, according to police. The Florida Department of Children and Families was also alerted.
Sanford has been with Polk County Schools for 15 years and doesn't have any other disciplinary actions on his file, according to police.
"When parents send their children off to school, they should be able to do so with trust in the school's administration," Haines City Police Chief Elensky said. "Mr. Sanford failed to act in this case, but we appreciate that the rest of the administration was very cooperative in this investigation."
Jacqueline M. Byrd, Superintendent of Polk County Public Schools, gave the following statement:
"I am terribly disappointed by the allegations that a staff member failed to report abuse. As educators, we have been entrusted with ensuring the safety and well-being of our students. Allegations of abuse must always be promptly reported to the proper authorities. Failure to do so is not only illegal, it places our students at risk of further abuse we cannot and will not allow that to happen. We are cooperating fully with our partners in law enforcement, and should we determine disciplinary action is merited based on the law enforcement investigation, I will act swiftly and to the fullest extent of my authority."
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