CONNECTICUT
Hartford Courant
MICHELLE R. SMITH, SUSAN HAIGH
Associated Press
HARTFORD — It’s called “passing the trash”: A school suspects a teacher of sexual misconduct and forces the teacher out to protect the students. But that teacher can still get a new job in a new school, sometimes with a glowing recommendation.
Only Pennsylvania, Missouri and Oregon ban the maneuver, but a federal mandate passed in December now requires states to address its potential risks. Connecticut is considering such legislation.
One woman abused by such a teacher says it’s about time the problem is getting attention.
She was 16 when her English teacher at the exclusive Marlborough School in Los Angeles began grooming her. He showered her with praise, gave her gifts and pitted her against her friends. Then there was a sexual advance, and sex. Eventually, she became pregnant and miscarried.
She reported him only years later, after she learned he had targeted another girl more recently. A lawsuit she filed says he was accused of misconduct at two schools before Marlborough hired him. When he was finally pushed out of Marlborough, the school gave him a recommendation, the suit asserts.
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