A pair of assistant principals at a California high school have been charged with felony child abuse for failing to report repeated sexual assaults committed by a student against three of his underage classmates last year, police say.
David Shenhan Yang, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, roughly 50 miles east of Los Angeles, following a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations made by the three female high schoolers.
The victims, two aged 15 and one 16 according to police, say they told Yang and Harris they were assaulted by the unidentified male student, aged 17, several times on school grounds, a criminal complaint filed Wednesday revealed.
David Shenhan Yang, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were arrested Wednesday at Carter High School in Rialto, roughly 50 miles east of Los Angeles, following a week-long investigation by local police into the allegations made by the three female high schoolers
One of the victims approached the staffers in September – five months before police were notified of the allegations – cops say, while another came forward in November.
According to cops, both staffers then neglected to report the alleged instances to school brass or law enforcement.
Per the complaint, ‘no notification was made to the Rialto Police Department until February 16th’ – where, at which point, the department began investigating the claims immediately.
The pair was apprehended Wednesday during school hours, with both handcuffed escorted out of the building and taken to a nearby detention facility.
Both staffers are now facing charges of felony child abuse for failing to report the incidents, as well two counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect.
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The pair was apprehended Wednesday during school hours, with both handcuffed escorted out of the building and taken to a nearby detention facility
The are currently being held on $150,000 bail and are scheduled to make their first court appearance Thursday afternoon, police records show.
A separate investigation is being conducted on the 17-year-old suspect, police say, who has not been identified.
‘In this case, the Assistant Principals’ failure to report sexual assault on their campus erodes the trust that students and parents alike should have regarding the safety and protection of all the children in their care,’ District Attorney Jason Anderson said of the case, which was first publicized by the Rialto Police Department on Tuesday.
‘Their failure as mandated reporters to notify law enforcement lead to further victimization of two students, and the sexual assault of a third victim, which was preventable.’
One of the victims approached the staffers in September – five months before police were notified of the allegations – cops say, while another came forward in November
According to a new release released by the Rialto Police Department Tuesday, authorities were informed earlier this month that the 17-year-old male student sexually assaulted one of the alleged victims, one of the 15-year-old students, several times on campus over the course of three months last year.
As the investigation progressed, however, detectives say they learned the same suspect had also been accused of sexually assaulting the two other alleged victims, ages 15 and 16, throughout last year.
The initial victim reported the sexual assault to Harris and Yang three months ago, in November, prosecutors say. Another victim reported her assault to both staffers in September, while the third had not previously reported her case to school officials, the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said.
Outraged parents demanded action from the school district over the alleged neglect of the staffers Tuesday, calling a board meeting demanding the staffers face consequences. The assistant principals were arrested the next day
According to police, the teenage male suspect, who has not been expelled by the school, is also under investigation, and was recently cited and released into the custody of his parents pending criminal charges being filed.
The department further revealed Tuesday that ‘the reason for the delay in reporting from school officials to the police department is also under investigation.’
Prosecutors, meanwhile, say that Harris and Yang, as school administrators, were required by state law to immediately report allegations of child abuse or neglect to law enforcement, hence the charges leveled against them.
The Rialto Unified School District responded to the scandal in a statement Wednesday, asserting that school officials will continue their own internal investigation into the allegations and why they were not reported sooner.
Outraged parents have demanded action from the school district over the alleged neglect of the staffers, calling a board meeting Tuesday night demanding they face consequences, before the pair were apprehended Wednesday during school hours and escorted out of the building in handcuffs to the San Bernardino County Sheriff Central Detention Center.
The parents also staged protests outside the school, demanding that staffers and officials take action.
Authorities have yet to release additional details about the alleged assaults or the investigation surrounding the suspect.
Yang and Harris face up to six years in prison for their alleged crimes.
