Miami Northwestern should forfeit their Florida 6A Title and every game after Sept 16, 2006.
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/131280.html
MIAMI NORTHWESTERN HIGH SCHOOL
Ex-principal indicted in sex coverup case
A grand jury issued a scathing report on the sex scandal at Miami Northwestern Senior High and indicted the school's former principal on charges of covering up the case.
BY DAVID OVALLE AND TANIA deLUZURIAGA
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Miami Northwestern Senior High's former principal was indicted Wednesday, charged with covering for a star football player accused of seducing an underage classmate, as a grand jury issued a sweeping report chronicling breakdowns in policy, priorities and a police investigation.
''The road to glory was paved for all . . . all except that little girl who was viewed as little more than a bump in the road to the school's state football championship,'' the report said.
Dwight Bernard, grinning in a sport coat and sunglasses, walked into the Miami-Dade state attorney's office Wednesday morning with his attorney, who called him a ``convenient scapegoat.'' He left in handcuffs, booked into Miami-Dade County jail on two third-degree felony counts of official misconduct.
The scathing grand jury report went far beyond the principal:
• Before police learned of the allegations on Dec. 5, 2006, at least 17 school employees knew Antwain Easterling, then 18, had sex with a 14-year-old band member in a campus bathroom on Sept. 16. Only Bernard faces criminal charges, but others could be admonished by the state's Education Department.
• Bernard and district administrators ignored Miami-Dade School Board policy that mandated Easterling be suspended for at least 10 days. Instead, he was allowed to play in the state title game, which Northwestern won, three days after his arrest. Easterling was never disciplined by the school.
The message sent, the grand jury said: ``If your athletic ability is stellar, we will bend the rules for you.''
• The school district meddled in the school's police investigation of the coverup, ordering the probe shut down even though 'everyone knew that `failure to report' was a crime.''
• Miami-Dade school district leaders retaliated against Detective Nicky Echezabal, who uncovered the breakdowns at Northwestern and penned a chronicle of her investigation. When she shared it with Miami detectives, she was demoted and denied a promotion.
The grand jury also issued nonbinding recommendations, including ensuring the district does not interfere in police investigations, ending a policy that ties principals' bonuses to a reduction in suspensions and ensuring that all schools employees know when to report allegations to authorities.
`BEYOND DISTURBING'
''Obviously, there are things in this report that are beyond being disturbing,'' Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew said. ``There are things that are reflected in this report that are very serious -- at the level of my own staff and in the culture of a school in dire need of improvement.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/548/story/131280.html
MIAMI NORTHWESTERN HIGH SCHOOL
Ex-principal indicted in sex coverup case
A grand jury issued a scathing report on the sex scandal at Miami Northwestern Senior High and indicted the school's former principal on charges of covering up the case.
BY DAVID OVALLE AND TANIA deLUZURIAGA
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Miami Northwestern Senior High's former principal was indicted Wednesday, charged with covering for a star football player accused of seducing an underage classmate, as a grand jury issued a sweeping report chronicling breakdowns in policy, priorities and a police investigation.
''The road to glory was paved for all . . . all except that little girl who was viewed as little more than a bump in the road to the school's state football championship,'' the report said.
Dwight Bernard, grinning in a sport coat and sunglasses, walked into the Miami-Dade state attorney's office Wednesday morning with his attorney, who called him a ``convenient scapegoat.'' He left in handcuffs, booked into Miami-Dade County jail on two third-degree felony counts of official misconduct.
The scathing grand jury report went far beyond the principal:
• Before police learned of the allegations on Dec. 5, 2006, at least 17 school employees knew Antwain Easterling, then 18, had sex with a 14-year-old band member in a campus bathroom on Sept. 16. Only Bernard faces criminal charges, but others could be admonished by the state's Education Department.
• Bernard and district administrators ignored Miami-Dade School Board policy that mandated Easterling be suspended for at least 10 days. Instead, he was allowed to play in the state title game, which Northwestern won, three days after his arrest. Easterling was never disciplined by the school.
The message sent, the grand jury said: ``If your athletic ability is stellar, we will bend the rules for you.''
• The school district meddled in the school's police investigation of the coverup, ordering the probe shut down even though 'everyone knew that `failure to report' was a crime.''
• Miami-Dade school district leaders retaliated against Detective Nicky Echezabal, who uncovered the breakdowns at Northwestern and penned a chronicle of her investigation. When she shared it with Miami detectives, she was demoted and denied a promotion.
The grand jury also issued nonbinding recommendations, including ensuring the district does not interfere in police investigations, ending a policy that ties principals' bonuses to a reduction in suspensions and ensuring that all schools employees know when to report allegations to authorities.
`BEYOND DISTURBING'
''Obviously, there are things in this report that are beyond being disturbing,'' Miami-Dade Superintendent Rudy Crew said. ``There are things that are reflected in this report that are very serious -- at the level of my own staff and in the culture of a school in dire need of improvement.''