Los Angeles, Calif., May 20, 2008 / 23:18 pm
Revelations of administrators’ mishandling of sexually abuse committed in the Los Angeles Unified School District have prompted comparisons to the clerical sexual abuse scandal that has afflicted the Catholic Church in recent years. Some are charging that there is a double standard which treats sexual abuse committed by educators less harshly than that committed by clerics.
The scandal that has brought the comparison to light is that of former assistant school principal Steve Thomas Rooney, who faces 13 felony sex-related counts. They include charges that he had unlawful sex with two female students ages 13 and 14 while he was assistant principal at a middle school.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) assigned Rooney to the middle school in August 2007 despite knowing that police had investigated Rooney about an alleged sexual relationship with a student at his previous school. The former high school student has since testified that Rooney impregnated her.
Other cases of alleged sexual abuse are pending. KNX 1070 Newsradio reports that “21 teachers and administrators have been pulled from schools in the past year because of allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with kids.” Most of the allegations have been made since January 2008.