Updated 8:42 pm: Albemarle police and the county’s commonwealth’s attorney have arrested three Albemarle County Public Schools employees after a grand jury indicted them on charges of failing to report suspected child abuse.
On October 7, Albemarle police announced the arrests of Joseph Downes McCauley, former principal of Hollymead Elementary School; Jhonce Brodie Downs, the district’s deputy chief human resources officer; and Erin Eileen Stone, the district’s Title IX coordinator. All three were released on personal recognizance bond following their arrests.
Police say the arrests come after months of investigation, with a grand jury handing down indictments October 5. The suspects each face three separate charges of failure to promptly report abuse to proper authorities, as Virginia law mandates for school employees. Two of those charges for each defendant are Class 1 misdemeanors, punishable by up to 12 months in prison and fines of up to $2,500. The third carries a maximum fine of $500.
“During the course of the investigation,” police say, “detectives received information indicating that some teachers and school staff may be hesitant to report suspected child abuse or neglect because they fear that reporting may subject them to adverse disciplinary action.”
McCauley resigned from his role at Hollymead July 9 in the wake of the arrest of former Hollymead social and emotional learning coach Michael Swiney on multiple charges of child sex abuse. As of press time, Downs and Stone remain employees of the district, according to its web site.
Albemarle County Circuit Court records for the three defendants show no scheduled future hearings at press time.
Original story follows…
Rio representative Jim Dillenbeck resigned from the Albemarle County School Board October 7, after making comments at an October 1 town hall that appeared to allude to a Burley Middle School teacher who died the following weekend.
Paul Regan, a seventh-grade teacher at Burley, died the weekend of October 3, according to a statement sent to Burley parents and families by principal William Schaffer. “He was well regarded by his students and staff throughout his career,” Schaffer wrote. In a statement to Cville Right Now, Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis said city police were investigating Regan’s death as a suicide, and did not suspect foul play.
In his town hall meeting with constituents at Northside Library October 1, Dillenbeck said, “I can tell you there’s a staff member at Burley right now who demonstrated some inappropriate behavior with the staff at Henley last year.” Dillenbeck described that personnel move as an example of a “trash transfer,” in which “somebody does something inappropriate at one school, [and] we transfer him to another school.” Regan was transferred from Henley to Burley at the beginning of the school year.
When C-VILLE asked Dillenbeck on October 6 about those remarks, he declined to comment.
“There’s transfers for all kinds of reasons, but not because someone is inept,” says Albemarle County Public Schools spokesperson Jason Grant. “That’s not the practice.” Grant repeatedly declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Regan’s transfer, saying laws to protect employee privacy forbid the district from discussing those details. He emphasized that a lack of detail surrounding employee suspensions or transfers did not indicate misconduct; those moves could owe to benign personal or medical reasons.
“At a recent town hall, Mr. Dillenbeck revealed information entrusted to him in confidence,” the remaining members of the school board wrote in a joint statement October 7. “He directly contradicted the facts known to this board. He revealed sensitive personnel information that he knew to be confidential. And he publicly legitimized rumors and opinions by stating them as fact, which they were not.”
“Mr. Dillenbeck broke our trust, and we called on him to resign,” the board’s statement continues. “While we accept his resignation, we urge him, as a private citizen, to work to repair the harm he has caused.”
Dillenbeck is the second member of the school board to resign in the past three months, following at-large member Allison Spillman’s departure in August. A former teacher in the Albemarle County public school system from 1990-1997, Dillenbeck narrowly unseated appointed incumbent Leslie Pryor in last fall’s election for the Rio District position.
The board has announced its intention to find and appoint a replacement to fill out the remainder of Dillenbeck’s term. On September 24, board members selected David Storm to fill Spillman’s at-large seat.
