Educators charged with failing to report assault

LA MARQUE — The top administrators and a teacher at Mainland Preparatory Academy charter school have been charged with failing to report the sexual assault of a student, Texas City police said.

Police are looking for a 29-year-old man who is charged with sexually assaulting the 10-year-old girl. Derrick Wayne Reed, of Galveston, faces charges that he fondled the girl, Texas City police Capt. Brian Goetschius said. The alleged assault happened in Texas City before Christmas, police said.

During the investigation, police found that the girl had gone to officials at Mainland Preparatory Academy, a charter school in La Marque. School officials took 21 days to report the girl's statement to Child Protective Services, police and the district attorney's office allege.

Galveston County Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen said the girl told school officials of the alleged assault on Dec. 14, but no one with Mainland Preparatory reported it to Child Protective Services until Jan. 4.

School officials didnt contact Texas City police until Jan. 5, Goetschius said.

State law requires teachers, doctors, nurses or day-care workers to make a verbal report to a law enforcement agency within 48 hours of receiving information about child abuse.

Section 261 of the Texas Family Code states it is not enough to notify school administrators of child abuse or neglect law enforcement must be notified. Child Protective Services is considered a law enforcement agency in child abuse cases.

On Thursday, Mainland Preparatory administrators Diane Bowers Merchant, 58, and Wilma Clark Green, 67, and teacher Rayshandra Shante Ashton, 29, were charged with one count of misdemeanor failure to report child abuse.

They also were given a chance to turn themselves in, which they did Friday at the Galveston County Jail. Each was booked and released on $1,000 bond. If convicted, each faces up to 180 days in jail and a fine up to $2,000.

Calls and emails to Merchant and Green were not returned. In statements to police, the women said each thought one of the other school officials was informing CPS or law enforcement about the allegations.

The Galveston County District Attorney's office decided to pursue the charges against the three educators after a meeting of police, prosecutors, Child Protective Services and the local Child Advocacy Center to review the totality of the case.

Allen said this was not the first time the district attorney has pursued failure to report child abuse charges but did not know whether any school officials had ever been charged in such a case in Galveston County.

A warrant was issued for Reeds arrest.

Goetschius said Reeds attorney contacted police Monday afternoon, but Reed had not turned himself in as of Monday night.

"We are actively pursing him at this time," Goetschius said.

When taken into custody, Reed will be held in jail on $40,000 bond on the aggravated sexual assault of a child charge.

Mainland Preparatory Academy serves about 430 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It was Galvestons first charter school and was founded by Merchant, Green and a group of other educators in 1998.

The school started in a vacant building that once housed a furniture store in Texas City but eventually the charter school built a campus in La Marque.

It is continuously recognized as one of the top ranked charter schools in the state, according to Texas Education Agency records.

But many parents were frustrated about the apparent lack of response by school officials.

"I think that they should have been arrested that is their responsibility, Mainland Preparatory parent," Tiffany Proffit said in an interview with KHOU-TV. "I mean, as a parent if my child comes to you and says someone is doing this, I would definitely want it reported."

Others who spoke with the TV station expressed frustration that they had not been informed of the charges against the school staffers.

KHOU-TV contributed to this report.