Neither Longview School District nor the school's resource officer reported accusations of an alleged sexual assault involving Mark Morris High School to the police, despite school employees being mandatory reporters of child abuse.
School leaders knew about the possibility of a crime days before the Longview Police Department received the first official notification of the case by a victim on Feb. 9.
Neither the police nor the school provided details, including the date or location of the alleged sexual abuse and who first reported it to the school.
The incident brings to light the line between gossip and causes for investigations, and the transparency of possible crimes occurring in schools.
Under state law, all school employees are mandatory reporters of child abuse, meaning they are required to inform law enforcement or another relevant agency if they have "reasonable cause to believe a child suffered abuse or neglect."
Child abuse can include physical or sexual abuse.
Longview Police Chief Robert Huhta said the law can apply to abuse by other children, not just by adults.
Reasonable cause is a legal term, meaning a reasonable person would interpret the facts of a case as evidence of a crime.
It is not clear, in this case, what school leaders knew about the victim's report before it was filed to the Longview police, or even afterward.
That report is not public because of the investigation is still active.
Longview School District policy also states that staff or the principal are required to contact the nearest Child Protective Services office and the police or sheriff within 48 hours when there is reasonable cause to believe a student has suffered abuse, neglect or exploitation. That abuse can be committed by anyone, including another student, the policy continues.
Letters to Mark Morris families show school leaders were addressing a discipline issue prior to the criminal complaint.
Longview Police Capt. Branden McNew also told The Daily News in an email Feb. 5 that Mark Morris' school resource officer, who is employed by LPD, said the school was addressing a possible incident involving the basketball team internally and had not requested police involvement.
The same day, Longview schools spokesperson Rick Parrish said in an email to The Daily News that "a student discipline matter at Mark Morris High School" had been addressed by staff, but he couldn't legally share more information.
Two days later, Mark Morris Principal Aaron Whitright wrote letter to families that the school had investigated reports of inappropriate behavior and "given appropriate consequences," though no disciplinary punishments are listed. He also asked that people not circulate false rumors, though he did not specify to which rumors he was referring or what the investigation entailed.
Two days after that, Longview students and parents joined a protest outside the school, demanding more information on an alleged sexual assault, and the official criminal complaint was filed.
Huhta said, as of Friday, the school district had not filed any reports involving the case to the police.
Parrish, executive director of communications and operations for Longview School District, did not respond to multiple questions about whether the district submitted any reports to the police or CPS.
Even if the school had filed a report to CPS, officials say it would not have investigated it.
Nancy Gutierrez — director of external communications for the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, which oversees Child Protective Services — said that accusations of sexual assault between two children would not warrant a CPS investigation because CPS specifically investigates child abuse committed by caretakers. If it had received such a report, it would redirect the case to law enforcement instead, she said.
The details of what the resource officer knew before the official report was filed are also unclear.
Huhta said on Monday that he could not say why the school resource officer, Hieu Ngo, did not report the incident because that information is part of the ongoing investigation.
McNew said that reporting suspected abuse to a school resource officer, so the officer could open an investigation, would satisfy mandatory reporting requirements.
School resource officers are police officers who partner with the school district to provide security and build relationships with students. Like other police officers, they can report and investigate crimes when necessary, Huhta said.
Mark Morris shares a school resource officer with Cascade and Mt. Solo middle schools. Another officer serves R.A. Long High School, Monticello Middle School and Discovery High School, according to the Longview Police Department website.
Parrish shared a letter sent to Mark Morris families Feb. 12, which stated that the district plans to hire a third-party investigator after the police investigation concludes.
"This step reflects our commitment to accountability," the letter states. "We want families to have confidence that this situation is being examined carefully and completely."
The letter also says the district is limited in the information it can share because of the nature of the active investigation and to protect student privacy.
The Longview Police Department announced Feb. 12 that it served a search warrant on Longview School District as part of its ongoing investigation into an alleged sexual assault.
The announcement states this is a standard investigative step, which normally wouldn't warrant an update on its own. However, because the case involves juveniles, the department is confirming the steps it takes
Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jurvakainen wrote in a statement Feb. 11 that the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office will review the evidence after the police investigation concludes and decide whether criminal charges are necessary.
The independent review is necessary because he and other members of his office had personal connections with the potential victim or other people connected to an alleged incident involving basketball players, he wrote.
The statement does not say whether he meant the boys or girls team, or whether it was varsity or junior varsity. Jurvakainen declined to give further details when asked.
