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Child advocate: New London investigation ‘frustrated and delayed’ by school district’s lack of communication

Hartford Courant - 11/22/2019

State child welfare authorities’ investigation into sexual abuse at the New London Public Schools has been hampered by the school district’s reticence and poor communication, according to the state child advocate.

Child Advocate Sarah Eagan wrote in a Nov. 13 letter to the district’s superintendent that her office would “take any and all legal action as permitted by state law to compel compliance” with numerous information requests.

The Courant obtained this letter, as well as additional letters and emails between the school district and the child advocate’s office, through a Freedom of Information request.

The letter, which Eagan also sent to the district’s lawyer and the mayor’s office, specifically points to two requests with which the district has not complied.

“While we have received other materials from the District over the course of the past months, at this time, our investigation has been frustrated and delayed by the lack of cooperation or communication with regard to this critical information,” Eagan wrote.

Superintendent Cynthia Ritchie issued a statement to the Courant on Friday, writing that the district has prepared document “collections” in response to the requests, and those collections “are ready to share.”

“A tremendous amount of work has gone into collecting and sharing information with (the child advocate’s office) over the past several months,” Ritchie wrote.

The child advocate’s information requests are part of an ongoing investigation, which the child advocate began after New London Mayor Michael Passero reached out in mid-May.

The investigation was spurred by the arrest of former school employee Corriche Gaskin, who has been charged with sexually assaulting two middle school girls in his office and in a school storage closet, according to court records.

After Gaskin’s arrest, two other former employees were arrested -- Jevon Elmore was charged with sexually assaulting a New London High School student and Melissa Rodriguez was charged with failing to report Elmore’s alleged relationships with students, court records said.

A Courant investigation over the summer found that Gaskin was rapidly promoted to a position of authority and influence over children despite a criminal record and a lack of formal training in education.

In addition, the school district followed similar patterns with Elmore and Rodriguez. Both were allowed back into the district despite a federal conviction in one case and ongoing state and school investigations in the other case.

The Courant reviewed police records, court documents and school district files, which together painted a picture of a school district that looked past turbulent conduct and allowed employees to work directly with children despite checkered records.

The documents

Beginning in June, Eagan’s office had requested a variety of information from the district, from personnel files to district policies.

The child advocate’s office has a subpoena for much of this information, and Eagan’s office wrote in emails to the district that they would be willing to secure additional subpoenas if the district felt it necessary.

In the Nov. 13 letter, Eagan specifically noted that the district has not provided her office with:

Results of the human resources audit that the district commissioned from a third-party investigator (The Courant previously reported that this audit was scheduled to be complete by the end of August.)

Information on the number and type of paraprofessionals working in the district

The child advocate first requested the human resources audit at a July meeting, Eagan wrote, and followed up five times. The child advocate first requested the paraprofessional information on Sept. 30, Eagan wrote, and followed up three times.

The school district’s attorney, Shipman & Goodwin partner Kevin Roy, shot back in a Nov. 15 letter to Eagan, addressing both the content of her letter and the letter’s “tone."

Roy wrote in his letter that the paraprofessional information could be provided “at any point," and that the district would contact the child advocate when the HR audit was complete and reviewed.

“The tone of your letter seems to suggest that the Board of Education or the Superintendent is in possession of the audit,” Roy wrote. “That is not true.”

The school district used this phrasing before -- in a Nov. 4 email obtained by the Courant, Superintendent Ritchie wrote that she was “not in possession of the HR audit.”

Eagan wrote in her Nov. 13 letter that the school district did not provide any additional information about the status of the audit.

Ritchie told the Courant on Friday that the audit “wasn’t completed at the time of (the child advocate’s) request,” but should be completed by the end of November.

‘Forced to issue additional subpoenas’

Without the “outstanding materials” in hand, Eagan’s office sent a Nov. 4 email postponing an in-person meeting with school district officials that had been scheduled for Nov. 6.

In response to the postponement, Ritchie wrote in an email that it “was not clear” that the child advocate’s office had needed the requested documentation before the in-person meeting.

But then the child advocate’s office followed up with a Nov. 5 email and again requested the documents and new meeting dates -- and the school district did not respond, according to emails obtained by the Courant.

Eight days later, Eagan wrote in her Nov. 13 letter that the child advocate’s office “is now forced to issue additional subpoenas."

“I must also note that (the child advocate’s office) conducts numerous reviews and investigations each year ... and this office typically receives prompt compliance with records and information requests," Eagan wrote.

On Friday morning, Eagan told the Courant that her office is focused on “ensuring that there is an infrastructure in place” to protect students and teachers in New London, and knows that the school district is focused on that as well.

“Although communication between the (child advocate’s office) and the district has at times been rocky, these process issues are not the heart of the matter,” Eagan said. “We anticipate an urgent and timely response to our request for information so that we may all work together to complete this review.”

In Ritchie’s Friday statement, she said the district looks forward to continued work with the child advocate’s office.

“In the meantime the district continues its steadfast commitment to putting students first,” Ritchie wrote.

Emily Brindley can be reached at ebrindley@courant.com.

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