IPS Officials Won't Comment On 6-Day Delay In Reporting Sexual Abuse Of Students By Employee

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Six Days To Report Child Sex Abuse: Where's The Media Outrage?

IPS Supt. Dr. Louis Ferebee

IPS officials waited six days after they received evidence that one of its counselors had exchanged explicit images and sexual messages with a student to make a report to the Department of Child Services, a clear violation of a state law requiring school officials to immediately report instances of suspected child sex abuse to child welfare services or law enforcement. Shana Taylor, a counselor at the Phoenix Academy at Longfellow Elementary School, now faces criminal charges for having sex with students in her school office.

Unlike the recent case at the prestigious Park Tudor private school where school officials waited a full day to make a vague, misleading report to the Department of Child Services, media outrage has been noticeably absent except for a WTHR-TV report last night. Does the media look at such matters through a different lens when the victims attend a school for the rich than when the abuse occurs at an inner city school heavily populated with the poor and minorities? Why aren't tough questions being asked of Dr. Louis Ferebee and school board members who just awarded him a gigantic pay raise last week knowing full well his administration had failed to act in conformance with state law in reporting suspected child abuse in this instance? Is law enforcement considering charges against those school officials who ignored state law and provided ample opportunity for Taylor to destroy evidence of her sexual relationships with students? IPS parents and the public deserve the laser-like coverage our local media gave to the transgressions of Park Tudor officials.

UPDATE: Here's a statement released by the Marion Co. Prosecutor's Office today:

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced today that charges have been filed against a school employee accused of engaging in sexual conduct with two juvenile students. Shana Taylor, 37, is alleged to have committed the offenses involving two 16-year-old male students while she was employed as a high school guidance counselor at Longfellow Alternative School in Indianapolis. Taylor is charged with eight counts of Child Seduction (Level 5 Felonies), one count of Child Seduction (Level 6 Felony), Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (Class A Misdemeanor) and Dissemination of Matter Harmful to Minors (Level 6 Felony).

An investigation into the matter was opened by the IMPD Sex Crimes Unit upon receipt of a report from the Indiana Department of Child Services on February 23.

According to the probable cause affidavit filed in the case, Taylor is alleged to have engaged in sexual conduct with one student in multiple locations, including the school, between October 2015 and February 2016. The encounters began when the student was 16 years of age and continued while he was age 17. Eight of the counts charged today relate to alleged conduct with this student.

Taylor is also accused of having a sexual encounter with a second student while that student was 16 years of age. Two of the Child Seduction counts charged today relate to alleged conduct with this student.

As further alleged in the probable cause affidavit, the mother of one victim came to the school and disclosed that she had viewed numerous text and Facebook messages between her son and Taylor. The mother provided the school with the messages and inappropriate photos of Taylor which were sent to the woman's son.

Taylor was arrested in Elletsville on February 25. An initial hearing is scheduled for today at 1:00 p.m. in Criminal Court 6.

Super Tuesday For Clinton And Trump

It will take an indictment that a legitimate Justice Department would have already brought against Hillary Clinton to stop her from winning the Democratic nomination for president. Bernie Sanders managed to pick up four wins tonight in Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Vermont, but Clinton won the lion's share of states tonight, including the big states. She racked up large winning margins in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. She's also leading in Massachusetts. Her wins give her at least a 2-1 advantage in the all-important delegate race when you include the super delegates. Without those votes, she has about a 100-delegate vote lead.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump has scored at least six wins today, including Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Tennessee and Virginia. He holds a narrow lead over John Kasich in Vermont. Ted Cruz gets a big win in his home state of Texas and a narrow victory in neighboring Oklahoma. Marco Rubio gets his first victory tonight with a decisive win in the Minnesota Caucus. Trump is expected to win the only other Republican vote tonight in Alaska. Trump is well ahead of Cruz and Rubio in the delegate race, but he's still well short of what he will need to claim victory in the GOP nomination race. He'll have about 1/5 of the total delegates he'll need to win after today's voting. Republican caucus votes today in Alaska have not reported yet.

UPDATE: Cruz gets a surprise, narrow victory in Alaska over Trump with Rubio in a very distant third. Here's the current delegate breakdown for both parties:

Clinton-1,055
Sanders-418

Trump-315
Cruz-205
Rubio-106

Six New Jersey Gannett Newspapers Call On Christie To Resign

EGGHEADS EXPLODED AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT
The talking heads on cable TV news have been talking about the high-level secret talks going on among top GOP donors who are confounded by the rise of Donald Trump as he's sweeping most of the Super Tuesday states other than Ted Cruz's home state of Texas and neighboring Oklahoma. The boys and girls in Gannett's Langley headquarters are setting their sights right now on Gov. Chris Christie, who is standing with Donald Trump in his Palm Beach headquarters tonight.

The Gannett executives' heads literally exploded after Gov. Christie sold out the establishment by endorsing Trump. As retribution, Gannett's six New Jersey-owned newspapers jointly-issued editorials demanding that Christie either resign as governor or be recalled. "We’re fed up with Gov. Chris Christie’s arrogance," the papers wrote. "We’re fed up with his opportunism. We’re fed up with his hypocrisy." "For the good of the state, it’s time for Christie to do his long-neglected constituents a favor and resign as governor. If he refuses, citizens should initiate a recall effort," the editorial said.

IPS Has A Park Tudor Problem

Will any IPS officials now face criminal charges for failing to timely report the sexual abuse of students by one of its employees? That question must now be asked as it emerges in court documents filed following the arrest of Shana Taylor, a counselor at the Phoenix Academy school, on child exploitation charges. IPS administrators waited six days after receiving graphic photos and text messages Taylor had exchanged with an IPS student. Legal experts tell WTHR that 6-day delay gave ample time for Taylor to destroy evidence just like apparently took place in the child exploitation case involving former Park Tudor boys basketball coach Kyle Cox.

By all indications it appears that numerous school administrators broke the law, along with IPS policies, when they waited almost a week to call authorities. IPS has launched an internal investigation to determine whether or not its reporting was consistent with the district's legal obligations.

Despite graphic photos and text messages, credible evidence that Shana Taylor was having sex with one of her students, detectives say IPS administrators didn't notify authorities until six days later, according to court documents. Experts insist that gave the guidance counselor ample time to destroy evidence and put her alleged victims in danger.

Jack Crawford is a defense attorney and former prosecutor.

"How do we know how many victims are out there? The safety of the child is the most important consideration," he said.

Crawford claims lost time can amount to lost evidence.

"The case can go down the drain in six days. Viewers and others know within the first 24 or 48 hours is the most ample time to get evidence," Crawford explained.

State law, IPS policy and administrative guidelines obtained by Eyewitness News all require employees to immediately report suspected child abuse and neglect to the Department of Child Services.

Instead, court records show the assistant principal of Longfellow Alternative School notified his superiors and passed along the evidence. None of the administrators notified DCS, either. There is no indication of them even calling the school police.

IPS did say in a statement Tuesday that Taylor was suspended as soon as it learned of the allegations, and that she's being recommended for termination.

A human resources case worker questioned Taylor, put her on administrative leave and then, only after obtaining a statement from her alleged victim, told the school to call DCS.

This is completely unacceptable and has exposed IPS to massive, costly lawsuits. And this comes right after the out-of-touch IPS board voted to give Supt. Louis Ferebee a gigantic pay raise. They voted for that pay raise knowing that this counselor had sexually abused students, and they should have been demanding answers from Dr. Ferebee about his staff's handling of the investigation to make sure the Department of Child Services had been notified immediately as required by state law. It is even more shocking when you consider this all happened after the bombshell reports of Park Tudor's fumbling after learning of the accusations against Kyle Cox. The IPS board must demand Dr. Ferebee's immediate resignation, along with any other member of his staff he failed to comply with state law.

According to court documents, Taylor had sex with at least two male students over the course of four months, and they suspect there are other victims as well. At least some of these sexual encounters took place on school property. You can bet there will be lawsuits filed against the school, and you can bet IPS will be paying out big settlement payments, along with large legal bills it will incur with its outside legal counsel, Faegre Baker Daniels, to dispose of these matters. Some of the IPS board members should reconsider whether they are fit to continue serving and think about resigning. Are you listening, Kelly Bentley and Mary Ann Sullivan?

Indiana Law Blog Plans To Go Dark At End Of March

I'm sorry to hear that Marcia Oddi plans to end her Indiana Law Blog at the end of this month after 13 years of excellent service to the Indiana legal community. As a long-time blogger, I know how much time and dedication she has committed to putting out the greatest online legal source for legal practitioners in Indiana. It's worth much more to many of us who practice law than that Indiana Lawyer newspaper that multi-millionaire Mickey Maurer sends out to the legal community through some financial arrangement he has with the Indiana State Indianapolis Bar Association we support with our annual dues. It's very difficult to labor day after day to provide a service to the public and, in turn, receive so little reward for your efforts. Speaking from personal experience, I have a few loyal readers who have made donations to my blog over the years for which I'm very appreciative, but I can attest to the fact that it doesn't come close to compensating you for the value of the time and service you like to believe you're providing. It's particularly upsetting when you see how much people of means in our state and local community dump into these nonprofit organizations of dubious value and political campaigns, but who see no value in supporting the service people like Oddi and myself provide. Yet some of those people are the first to pick up the phone and give you advice on what should be researching or writing about. It's generally only the average guys and gals who are willing to support the service we provide in filling a gap sorely missing from traditional news reporting services. I thank Oddi for her many years of service and can't express how much I will miss the legal news she has brought us all of these years, particularly the outstanding way she has shined light on the selection process of trial court judges and members of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.

The Man At The Center Of The Kosciusko Sheriff Public Corruption Case

There's a fascinating interview with Kevin Bronson on YouTube at the 2013 World Karate Union Weekend in Pennsylvania. Bronson, a South Bend native, is the jailed inmate that Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine stands accused of affording special treatment in exchange for $40,000 in bribes according to a grand jury indictment.

In this interview, Bronson tells how he was trained in martial arts as a young child and how he grew up to become one of the first owners of Nautilus Fitness Clubs, eventually owning nineteen clubs over a several state area. Bronson says his business partner in the fitness clubs was the son of a mafia boss, whose organized crime syndicate laundered money through his fitness clubs.

After becoming a multi-millionaire businessman, Bronson says he was charged and convicted on RICO charges by the feds and sent to a federal prison that housed violent inmates. He says he lost over $10 million in assets as a result of that conviction. It was at that federal prison where he says he joined what sounds like the Aryan Brotherhood as a matter of survival, although he refers to it as a gang. Bronson even acknowledges once killing another man and getting off on technical charges. Bronson says he left behind his criminal past in 2010 following a religious conversion.

Near the end of the interview, you will hear Bronson discuss a potential book and movie deal. According to the indictment against Bronson, he and Mark Soto threatened an Ohio attorney, David S. Baker, who helped set up a business they operated together, Young Dragon Enterprises, LLC, if he didn't perform legal services for them on the book and movie deal.

Bronson's name, incidentally, appears in a 2012 Indiana Court of Appeals criminal appeals case of Bart Dewald, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated battery, criminal confinement and criminal recklessness. A footnote described Bronson as an inductee into the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame and a strong man for hire:

Bronson holds black belt rank in twenty-three martial arts and is a two-time inductee into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame and a two-time inductee into the World Hall of Fame. Others that have achieved that recognition include Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris. Bronson had at one time been in the “physical harm business,” but after serving prison time, was trying to avoid that line of work.

City-County Council Unanimously Approves Appointment Of Full-Time Minister As Deputy Mayor Of Neighborhoods

Imagine the reaction if a white Republican mayor appointed a white minister of a conservative, all-white church as his deputy mayor of neighborhoods and told him he could keep his full-time pastor job while pulling down a full-time salary as a deputy mayor. The Indianapolis Star would be editorializing daily, and Matthew Tully and Tim Swarens would be cranking out regular columns condemning the unethical and untenable relationship resulting from the mayor's appointment until he relented and withdrew the appointment. Oh, hypocrisy knows no bounds when it comes to our liberal friends who can't hate enough on conservative, white Christians.

Mayor Joe Hogsett appointed Rev. David Hampton, the senior pastor of the Light of the World Church, an all-black Christian church, as his deputy mayor of neighborhoods. Rev. Hampton is not giving up his full-time ministry job at one of the city's largest black churches. He will continue in that role while pulling down his six-figure salary as a full-time deputy mayor. I ask if it is even remotely possible for Rev. Hampton to serve two masters. Not a single member of the City-County Council had the courage last night to question the efficacy of this arrangement as they voted unanimously to approve his appointment without debate. Committee members in the Administration & Finance Committee never even questioned him about his dueling, conflicting roles. The same liberal council members who bash conservative Christians daily on social media gushed over Rev. Hampton's appointment.

Ellspermann's Resignation Made Official

Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann kept her terms of the bargain when she tendered her resignation to Gov. Mike Pence this week, effective Wednesday, March 2. Gov. Mike Pence offered her the position as Ivy Tech's new president in consideration for her agreeing to resign quietly so he could appoint Eric Holcomb to her job. Holcomb, a Mitch Daniels crony and former naval intelligence officer, had been seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Dan Coats.

Ellspermann, a Democrat at heart, had never felt comfortable serving with Gov. Pence and clashed with him on many issues. The quid pro quo deal for Ellspermann allowed the Republican establishment to get Holcomb out of the Senate race because of their fear that a three-man race would allow U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat. Establishment Republicans back another naval intelligence officer, U.S. Rep. Todd Young, to succeed Coats. You can't beat the military/industrial complex in the Hoosier State. They own us lock, stock and barrel.

Ellsperman leaves her statewide office without prior approval of the Ivy Tech board of trustees, which has yet to interview candidates for its top job, a process that's supposed to involve a nationwide job search. Pence expects his political appointees to the board to back Ellspermann. Former Mayor Greg Ballard, who is disliked by Gov. Pence, has expressed an interest in the job he is completely unqualified to fill. Ballard taught business classes at a five-and-dime business school for a short period following his retirement from the Marines. Ellsperman, a Purdue engineering graduate with a doctoral degree, formerly served as director of the University of Southern Indiana's Center for Applied Research.