MIDLAND, Texas (KMID)- On Wednesday, five employees at a Christian School in Midland, Texas, were arrested after police say they failed to notify law enforcement when a student reported he had been assaulted on campus.
Superintendent Jared Lee, Secondary Principal Dana Ellis, Secondary Vice Principal Matthew Counts, Athletic Director Gregory McClendon, and Head Baseball Coach Barry Russell have all been charged with one count of Failure to Report with Intent to Conceal.
An arrest affidavit said, “These administrators and teachers at Midland Christian School are required by Texas (law) to report the incident to authorities. Instead of reporting the incident, they have continually attempted to conceal the incident or abuse from authorities… (they) conducted their own ‘investigation’…they had knowledge of the sexual assault.”
What led up to the arrests? Here is what we know:
Jan. 20: Victim reports assault occurred
A ninth-grader said he was assaulted on Jan. 20 in the locker room after baseball practice. The victim told police when he entered the locker room, the lights were turned off and he was pushed to the ground. The victim said someone in the darkened room told him it was “Freshman Initiation Day”. The victim told police a sophomore student repeatedly hit him with a baseball bat, and then used the bat to sexually assault him.
Principal Ellis later told police she was first notified of the assault on Jan. 20.
Jan. 21: Superintendent notified
According to an affidavit, Ellis said she informed Superintendent Lee about the assault the day after it happened. Lee then asked the athletic director and vice principal to investigate.
Jan. 28: Police launch investigation
The Midland Police Department was notified of the assault on Jan. 28. It was not clear from the affidavit who informed them, but it was made clear in the arrest affidavit that none of the administrators or coaches arrested ever reached out to the police.
After the department was alerted, an officer headed to Midland Christian School and spoke with the principal. The affidavit stated that Lee confirmed school leaders were aware that an assault had taken place.
At that point, a detective called the victim’s mom and arranged for the victim to be interviewed by a forensic interviewer.
Feb. 11: Victim interviewed amid continuing investigation
Investigators met with the victim for a forensic in which the victim provided more details about the events of Jan. 20 and confirmed that he was attacked by a fellow baseball player.
Following the interview, the detective went back to the school. At that time, the detective requested that an unnamed student be brought into the office. That student was eventually transported to the police department. MPD later confirmed one student was arrested in connection with the investigation.
During this encounter, Superintendent Lee was out of the office, but investigators did speak with Principal Ellis who confirmed she and the others charged knew of the assault. According to the affidavit, Ellis told the detective that the school had launched its own investigation; she was, however unable to provide documentation of that investigation.
MPD advised Ellis the school would need to hand over its documentation by Feb. 14.
Feb. 14: Lee allegedly refuses to provide documents, search warrant executed
On Valentine’s Day, police say Lee called the investigating detective and said the school would not be providing any documents pertaining to its internal investigation into the assault. At that point, the detective applied for a search warrant, and that warrant was executed the same day.
In its search of the school, investigators found relevant documents created on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12 by Counts and McClendon. Even though Ellis told investigators the school had launched an investigation on Jan. 21, there was no documentation to prove that.
In separate interviews, Counts and McClendon told investigators they had not interviewed students until three weeks after the assault took place and that the students they interviewed said they could not remember what happened.
According to the affidavit, during their search, investigators found multiple emails between the five who were later arrested and another unnamed person. The affidavit stated that in those emails, the unnamed person told the others if they did not call to report the assault, he would.
Feb. 16: Arrests made, others come forward
Around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, several police vehicles arrived on the Midland Christian School campus. A short time later, five people were escorted from the school in handcuffs.
Around 2 p.m., MPD confirmed the arrests and also confirmed a student had previously been taken into custody.
Following the arrests, Nexstar’s KMID heard from several former students, parents of students, and former teachers who said they believed the school had a history to “sweeping things under the rug”.
“I went to Midland Christian High School from 2013-2015. I played football under Coach Mac, and this story is no surprise to me and many others. The admin and coaches tolerated and covered up a highly sexualized, and emotionally abusive culture. If you were a valuable athlete, you were a God. You got paid, you lacked for nothing, and you got away with everything. Zero real consequences. Theft, rape, sexual assault, drugs, alcohol, were all a part of being in MCS sports. Just put my name in the pile of other alums who have spoken out,” former student and athlete Mason Riggs said.
Around 3 p.m., Midland Christian released a statement confirming the arrests, which read in part:
“The five administrators were notified of an alleged hazing incident involving some of our student athletes that resulted in school disciplinary action. Subsequently, school leadership was contacted by MPD regarding the alleged incident. Our school officials have and will continue to, cooperate with law enforcement and their investigation. Currently, we have qualified acting administrators to supervise the campus, oversee student activities, support faculty, and maintain the day-to-day operation of the school.”
Later that same day, the five school administrators were released from the Midland County Detention Center after posting bail. Their bail had been set at $5,000 each.
