Reporter Brian Day went out to Powell Elementary School this afternoon to see if he could talk to some parents about the V. Cleon Harper arrest. For those of you who haven’t heard, Harper – a sub with the district – was arrested Thursday on allegations he molested schoolchildren at Powell.
Day spoke with Theresa Lopez who claimed her daughter’s friend was one of the students involved, and that Harper allegedly, “touched her all over.”
Reporter Jennifer McLain also did some legwork on the story today. Apparently, Harper holds a California emergency substitute teaching permit, which expires in September, and a credential that allows him to develop, plan and implement school counseling and guidance programs for students from pre-school to high school, which expires in 2012.
Lee Pope, assistant counsel for the teaching credentialing commission, told McLain Harpers credentials will be suspended if charges are filed with the District Attorneys office, which is supposed to happen on Monday. If Harper is convicted, he’ll lose the credential completely, according to Pope.
If your reporter were doing his job he would also have discovered this. The teacher coached the students in writing ‘mysterious’ events about Harper, as a writing exercise. None of the written assignments described any ‘touching’ other than a light touch on the shoulder. It was only after feedback by the teacher and the administrator that children began to talk about other forms of touching. This same class was known for being disruptive to sub teachers in the past.
Harper is among the most upstanding people in the Azusa community and this ‘witch-hunt’ is an unparalleled abuse of power and authority by the School district, by Child Protective Services and by the Azusa Police Department. It was a complete over reaction to childish fiction to ‘get back’ at a sub teacher who tried to hold them accountable for their collective mis-behavior.