We had a case at our local school. It turned out to be a false accusation, but the teacher concerned was arrested at the school (fortunately not handcuffed) and made to stand down. The Dept of Ed gave him a temporary transfer to a non-teaching administrative position. I supported the guy (as best as I could). We had a support team formed of parents. it was awkward, because I also knew the kid whose mother had brought the complaint, and another kid who was 'witness'.
In our case - the complaint had been that the teacher had smacked this boy (fifteen years ago when this happened this was actually legally OK, it turned out) and was actually living with the boy's mother at the time, and he claimed she had told him to punish the boy immediately for misbehaviour and not to wait until they got home. She only brought the case after he (the teacher) broke up with her.
The boy who was witness - it turned out he wasn't even at the school that day, defence had records. But the parents had got their son involved because they felt the teacher had been too severe in punishing him (their son), so they felt having their son present to say, "the teacher smacked me too" (which was true) would help. No go - the judge said that as the law stood at that time, teachers were permitted to smack students. The mother/ex-girlfriend tried to make out that the smacking had been given with sexual overtones, but there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever. The judge saw it as "woman scorned" and the guy got his job back. But he didn't have the heart to go back to that school, even though he would have been well supported - instead he asked for a transfer.
We were sad to lose him, but through the trial I had begun to realise - he had big problems. He kept getting involved with inappropriate women, generally the mothers of his students. He also would sabotage any success he had. My best friend got involved with him (her daughter was a former student of his), they seemed very happy, he and her two children got on well - then he broke it off, with no apparent reason given. He didn't even have the courage to tell her face to face, he sent her a letter.
By this stage we were REALLY hearing alarm bells.
However, he always seemed to have been a good teacher who cared for his students. But he was an emotional basket-case who eventually self-destructed and suicided. I do not think the court case had any bearing on things, by then - his exoneration was thorough. But he really did leave himself wide open for accusation, and he really was self-destructive.
The problem with accusations, they can stick even when the person is exonerated. A stronger person could have made a good go of it back in the same school. And there ARE ways in which an accused teacher can be still on the payroll but kept away from kids. This is a two-way protection - it protects students in case the teacher IS a monster, and it protects the teacher from further false accusations, likely to come out of the woodwork whether the initial accusation is true or not - hysteria.
That principal should be stood down. A principal is supposed to put the school first. he is not doing his teacher any favours and he is not doing the students any either. In my book, a principal who is only interested in covering his own rear end should be put out to pasture, or sent back into the classroom under someone with more guts.
Marg
