Few punishments for those who fail to report abuse

By Jordan Steffen
Denver Post
July 7, 2014

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26092783/few-punishments-those-who-fail-report-abuse

Richard "Rick" Johnson.

Investigators would have found numerous inappropriate photos of a 13-year-old girl posted on the walls of her math teacher's office, but administrators at her Douglas County school never called them.

At least two students and their parents warned school officials about an inappropriate relationship between the teacher and his student. But instead of calling law enforcement or child welfare services — as required under a state law to help prevent child abuse — two former administrators at Rocky Heights Middle School punished children who reported the abuse, and failed to trigger an investigation that could have stopped the 30-year-old from preying on the girl for months before he raped her for the first time, according to a lawsuit filed by the girl's parents.

Mandatory reporters, like the school's then-principal, Patricia Dierberger, and assistant principal, James McMurphy, are required by law to report suspected child abuse. Failing to do so can result in criminal charges and up to six months in jail. But Dierberger and McMurphy will likely never face that charge or punishment for their alleged inaction.

In fact, few mandatory reporters — such as teachers, nurses, coaches and clergy members — ever face punishment for failing to report suspected child abuse, a Denver Post review has found. And the punishment for failing to report can be as little as $50.

Only one out of every 13 of the charges filed in the past 10 years has resulted in convictions. Since 2004, only 65 charges of failing to act as a mandatory reporter have been filed by prosecutors in Colorado, according to a review of state judicial data by The Post.

"It is incredibly important that people who work with children understand that they have an obligation to make reports when they believe there may be an inappropriate relationship occurring," said Stan Garnett, district attorney for Boulder County. "If you are going to be working with kids, you better know what the law is."

Attorneys and prosecutors offer varying reasons explaining the low number of filings. Some say it can be difficult to prove whether someone had a reasonable belief a child was being abused. Others say the timing of charges can be difficult. And one prosecutor says the reason there are so few charges is because people who work with children are meeting their responsibilities.

Since 2004, an average of 143 charges of child abuse have been filed each year, according to the Colorado Judicial Branch. In that same time period, an average of six counts of failing to report child abuse have been filed against mandatory reporters per year.

Abuse revealed, no action taken

Years after the assaults stopped, the woman told leaders of her Longmont church she was 14 years old when a youth pastor sexually assaulted her for the first time. But the five men she told are accused of doing nothing, and the youth pastor, Jason Roberson, continued working with children.

About a year after she reported the abuse to police, Roberson accepted a plea agreement in April and pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and stalking, according to court records. Boulder County prosecutors have filed charges against the five leaders of the Vinelife Church for allegedly failing to relay the report of abuse to police.

Prosecutors argue that the victim reported the abuse to church leaders after she turned 18, but because Roberson was still working with children, the defendants were still required to report the abuse to law enforcement or child protective services, according to court records. The charges against the church leaders were first reported by the Boulder Daily Camera.

Pastor Luke Humbrecht pleaded guilty in January and was given a deferred sentence. The other four men, including Senior Pastor Walt Roberson, who is Jason Roberson's father, have ongoing cases.

Defense attorneys in those cases argue the charges should be dismissed for several reasons, including claims that the mandatory reporting law is unconstitutional and the defendants are being unfairly prosecuted because of their religious beliefs, according to court documents. Some defendants have argued that they are not mandatory reporters.

State law defines who is required to report suspected or observed child abuse to law enforcement or child welfare services. The list of mandatory reporters for child abuse has grown in past years, with the most recent additions including coaches and emergency medical service providers.

If someone fails to report suspected child abuse, prosecutors may file a Class 3 misdemeanor against them. If convicted of the charge, defendants face a minimum punishment of a $50 fine, or up to six months in prison.

"Most of the time we are not working to put people in jail, but we want to make sure people are following the law and know there are consequences if they don't," Garnett said. "We don't charge people just to make an example."

None of the 65 charges filed resulted in jail time, and only five ended with convictions including punishments such as unsupervised probation and fines. At least 17 charges were dismissed after defendants completed deferred judgments, meaning they likely finished classes and maintained good behavior in exchange for having the charge dropped.

Prosecutors dismissed at least 18 charges outright, according to The Post's analysis.

In some cases, it may be difficult to prove if the mandatory reporter had enough reason to suspect there was abuse, said Stephanie Villafuerte, executive director of the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center and a former prosecutor.

"One person's view of what constitutes abuse and neglect may not be the same definition for another, and as a result, a jury or judge may not be willing to convict," Villafuerte said. "This is tragic because failing to report abuse often emboldens abusers and results in more child victims."

A "nice guy"

Attorneys handling the lawsuit against the Douglas County School District say not only did Dierberger and McMurphy have reasonable cause to believe the 13-year-old was being abused by her math teacher, Richard "Rick" Johnson, they also intentionally did not report the suspected abuse to police or human services.

Johnson, now 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child in the case in September 2013, and as part of a plea agreement more than two dozen charges — including charges of sexual assault on a child — were dropped, according to state records. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The lawsuit alleges that both Dierberger and McMurphy made students who reported the relationship between Johnson and the girl apologize to Johnson, lied to parents about conducting investigations and even defended Johnson, calling him a "nice guy." During the months when the administrators were telling students to stop talking about "rumors" of teacher-student relationships, Johnson was constantly texting the teenager, plying her with alcohol and carrying her books to class, according to the complaint.

Johnson began sexually assaulting the girl three months after the administrators allegedly received the first report of the relationship in April 2011.

The school district denies the material allegations of the complaint and says safety is a top priority, spokeswoman Paula Hans said in a statement.

"Neither law enforcement nor prosecutors ever charged any district employee associated with this matter with failing to report child abuse," Hans said.

The victim's parents first learned their daughter was abused in October 2012 and reported it to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office — 19 months after the administrators are accused of receiving the first claim of abuse. The statute of limitations for filing a Class 3 misdemeanor is 18 months.

On average, charges against mandatory reporters were filed 4½ months after they allegedly first failed to call authorities.

In the past year, the Colorado Department of Human Services received 83,037 referrals of child abuse and neglect. About 75 percent — roughly 65,000 referrals — came from mandatory reporters across the state.

In the past 10 years, prosecutors in Larimer County have filed 10 charges of failing to act as a mandatory reporter; nine of those were later dismissed. Clifford Riedel, district attorney for the county, said most of the cases his office handled involved people who did not know they were required to report abuse or people who reported abuse to a supervisor instead of police or human services.

A recent survey by the Department of Human Services, part of a campaign to increase the public awareness about child abuse, showed about 30 percent of mandatory reporters do not know the proper steps to report child abuse or neglect.

"It's really more an act of omission," Riedel said. "Just because a charge was filed does not mean a mandatory reporter turned a blind eye."

Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, jsteffen@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jsteffendp

Mandatory reporters

Under state law, mandatory reporters who observe or have a reasonable cause to suspect child abuse must report the suspected abuse to either law enforcement or child welfare services.

Mandatory reporters include: medical personnel, educators, mental health providers, veterinarians, police officers, firefighters, clergy members, emergency medical service providers and coaches.