BishopAccountability.org
	Former Teacher Accused of Molestation Was Considered "Cool" by Students By Christina Denardo Miami Herald [Florida] March 10, 2006 http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/14066581.htm Chad Stoffel stood out to the students at Summit Christian School. Unlike his older colleagues who dressed in dress shirts and ties, Stoffel dressed in khakis and polo shirts. The girls liked him for his good looks. The guys liked him because he was "cool." Students got to know Stoffel, 29, pretty well. He often invited his students and the basketball players he coached to his West Palm Beach home to hang out. They surfed. They played tennis. They talked about politics and religion. At a small school like Summit Christian, a nondenominational K-12 school in suburban West Palm Beach, it's common for students to see teachers outside the classroom. Stoffel oversaw the school's music ministry, which has won awards over the years and made him a popular among budding musicians. The jocks liked him, too, for his prowess on the basketball court. "He was able to find that median where he was an authority figure but cool enough that he would hang out with his students," said Tim Reese, a 2002 Summit graduate who played tennis with Stoffel. Stoffel often invited students to hang out, and some didn't think there was anything odd about the offers. "It was really common," Reese said of teachers and coaches hanging out with students. "It wasn't a big deal." With Stoffel, "there was never anything that would raise a red flag." "We just played tennis," he said. Over the weekend, Stoffel was arrested after confessing he had sex with a 16-year-old Wellington Christian School student and a 16-year-old Summit Christian School student and had molested two children in Broward County years ago. Despite the confession, for now Stoffel is facing only four counts of unlawful sexual activity and four counts of battery of a child for his encounters with the Wellington Christian student. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office learned of the sex abuse when a counselor at a religious retreat in Memphis told a sheriff's detective that Stoffel had admitted to molesting numerous young boys in South Florida. The retreat, Love In Action International, is dedicated to "restoring those trapped in sexual and relational sin," its Web site says. The counselor also said Stoffel had reported himself to the state's abuse hot line. Parents say that Stoffel told students he was going to Tennessee for a retreat on leadership. There were even parties for his going-away. In his confession, Stoffel admitted that he had consensual sex with the teens in parking lots, including those at Summit Christian and Wellington Christian. Two days after his last meeting with the Wellington teen, the boy's father called Stoffel and told him to turn himself in to his pastor or he would call the police, according to the sheriff's office. Pembroke Pines police said they had probable cause to support felony charges of sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation for two molestations dating to 1995, but that neither victim wants the cases prosecuted. The victims were 8 and 9 years old at the time. Summit Christian has refused to talk to reporters since Stoffel's arrest, except to say he has not worked at the school since December. It's unclear whether he was fired or resigned. Over the weekend, current and former students called each other constantly, trying to figure out who the victims were and whether there were any warning signs they should have seen. Looking back, some say they thought it odd a teacher wanted to hang out with his students after school. Some wondered if there was something more serious going on, but they couldn't put their finger on it. "It's unfortunate that this whole thing had to occur," Reese said. "I really hope this doesn't affect the school in a negative way."
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.