middletown high school scandal

The school acknowledged he raped or otherwise abused at least 17 students. Middletown sits amid rich, rolling agricultural lands and mountains with biblical names, such as Mount Adam and Mount Eve.

Instead, under the tutelage of Middletown highs popular English teacher, Fred Isseks, a rowdy and diverse group of teenagers organised themselves into an investigative journalism unit. Status: New school board rescinded the ban in July. Superintendent Dr. Chelton Hunter wrote in a letter to parents Wednesday that the video "demonstrates that this hazing was much more widespread, and involved many more students, than we had previously known.". The alleged August assault took place in the team's turf room with no adult supervision for 23 minutes. Read that story: Man Sues Middletown School District, Alleging Sex Abuse (Aug. 9, 2021).

MacLeish said he has now spoken to six of Coleman's alleged victims. Mr. Sigler, 54, was charged with second-degree sodomy, which is a felony, and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Diodato is currently 59. One member of the class, speaking to me on condition of anonymity, describes receiving a death threat. At the time, Smith lived in a trailer just outside the Wallkill landfill gates. Sufficiently spooked, the student dropped Isseks class. Humans have long been seduced by the region: 12,500-year-old indigenous archaeological sites have been discovered here, some of the oldest known in North America. WebMiddletown High School (Pa.) has canceled its 2022 football season in light of new evidence in a hazing scandal. His response was disappointed, rather than disciplinary, and she credits his intervention with changing her life. She would even take him to her fianc's softball games or to dinner with her fianc and his biological daughter, and encourage him to talk to her fianc and develop a friendship with him. Jason Flores, 14, a ninth-grade student at Middletown High School, said students would be more careful about being alone with a teacher or school officials. The teacher he accused is Floyd Guillandeu, who would currently be 82 and no longer works in the district. MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) A Pennsylvania school district has announced it's canceling its high school's football season after obtaining a video Over hundreds of entries, they had documented the illegal burial of toxic waste in a landfill meant only to receive municipal rubbish.

The students were invited to attend an event at Stewart Air National Guard Base where they would meet President Bill Clinton. Just one week after our visit, however, the US General Accounting Office releases a report echoing Isseks warning. He said Guillandeu paid him $10-$20 for oral and anal sex, and that Guillandeu showed him heterosexual pornographic movies. Its absolutely correct that there is a tremendous amount of toxic waste remaining in that landfill We make no attempt to deny that, Mills says, flanked by county officials. Reflecting on the project today, Isseks places the countys three major landfills the Town of Wallkill, Orange County, and Al Turi landfills in the context of geology, not cultural theory. The school's current leadership has characterized the abuse as a problem of the past and said it discovered the extent of the misconduct only recently. Another student vividly recalls being followed home after an afternoon filming at the dump, by a car they had seen parked outside the landfill gates. Superintendent Chelton Hunter and the district legal counsel Jeff Litts confirmed to PennLive that the expulsions are related to the alleged August hazing incident. Superintendent Chelton Hunter released a written statement promising discipline for any students involved. Howard "Howdy" White, who abruptly left in 1974 after a parent accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct with a student. The students were given letters to take home that began, ''Dear Parent: Regrettably, I must inform you . Separately, Rhode Island state police are looking into possible sex-crime charges and other offenses, including failure to report abuse. Middletown High School sign. Hundreds of refrigerators, leaking toxic CFCs, allegedly lie underground there. Peterson was told in 2004, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2015 about numerous allegations of abuse, according to interviews with alumni and documents obtained by The Associated Press. Middletown was set to open their season on Friday against Lower Dauphin. Trespassing across the course and filming themselves every step of the way, as golfers play in the background the students locate this illegal dump, finding a dozen crushed, 55-gallon chemical drums half-buried in the earth. Issekss thesis, Media Courage, includes a chapter on the philosophical potential of the American high school system. In response to the threat against the high school, Middletown school officials said there will be an increased police presence at the school on Monday. An unruly group of trespassing teenagers had quietly become the best news source in town. There was an error processing your request. He opened a document box, reached inside, and said, This is what youre looking for, right? Out came the missing logbook. Students who participated in the incident face discipline in accordance with the district's student code of conduct and hazing policy, and any staff members involved will also face disciplinary action, Hunter wrote. Nearly 30 years on, is Middletown still at risk? Hamblet and Dean are now dead. Guillandeu was his 8th/9th grade history teacher. One evening in spring 1994, though, a politician pulled Birmingham aside and asked for an update. Rachel Raimist was one of the first students to get involved in the landfill documentary. ''Mr. WebMiddletown Area High School has a new head football coach after a hazing scandal that led to the cancellation of its 2022 football season. middletown high school scandal.

These food groups support gut health. Isseks course, known as Electronic English, would propel many of its students into careers in media production and environmental law, but at the time their work did not receive universal approval. I remember coming home just generally muddy and dirty, and sometimes smelling a little like a dump, Birmingham says.

Thats how we do things, Pahucki says, disappointed. The teacher was in her early 30s at the time. Harrisburg, PA 17111 ''. By the mid-90s, the students documentary had picked up political steam. The official registration and financial information of WITF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, (800) 732-0999. Knocked down by a series of strokes, he remains, in his words, a fighter. David Green: Middletown police sergeant who interviewed Sigler's victim in June and December 2002; both times victim denied any abuse by Sigler; Green told grand jury he was afraid of conducting an investigation because he was afraid the press would find out; testified during the Cohen arbitration hearing that he had no solid evidence upon which to launch an investigation. WebSchool officials last month said they had decided to cancel the 2022 football season after learning there was a second video and that the number of players involved was larger Patricia McLeod: Assistant superintendent appointed as acting superintendent after Sigler's arrest; admitted in January 2003 to hearing rumors about Sigler and the boy he sodomized but said nothing was brought to her directly, a claim fellow Assistant Superintendent Tim Conway refuted recently during Bernard Cohen's arbitration hearings; applied for permanent placement as superintendent; withdrew interest in superintendent's position in February; resigned as acting superintendent in February. Now a family man, running his own tutoring business, Birmingham tells me that Isseks class awakened in him a passion for environmental conservation.

Middletown High School (Pa.) has canceled its 2022 football season in light of new evidence in a hazing scandal. Over the next six years, culminating in 1997, students passing through Isseks high school class would film, edit, and release a feature-length documentary that exposed a generations worth of illegal, mob-connected dumping of toxic materials in their part of New York state. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. You name it, its in that landfill and I know its in there, because I buried lots of it. The towns supervisor at the time, Howard Mills, described by the local newspaper as a Republican icon, admits later in the film that this was not an exaggeration. The boy is now 15 and a student at Middletown High School. Another interviewee, a former driver for a mafia-owned waste-hauling firm, described tipping fuming truckloads of paint sludge from a nearby automobile factory straight into the dump. However, at her home the two would sit "side-by-side on her couch in the upstairs multi-purpose room, talking, smoking cigarettes that she provided, and listening to music," read the lawsuit. More importantly, Isseks tells me, the books mysterious reappearance in the sheriffs archive was a sign that the students efforts were succeeding. Although there are no leachate streams visible on our hike, Cleaver notes that previously prominent mounds of rip-rap dry stone rubble that had been dropped along the edge of the landfill to prevent it from slumping have disappeared below the waterline. This investigation did not involve just hazing or boys will be boys conduct, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle said in a news release from the office of District Attorney Fran Chardo. Support local journalism. In the 2004 case, three students reported to then-Dean of Students Tim Richards that a teacher "was touching them in ways that made them uncomfortable," according to Richards' spokeswoman, Karen Schwartzman.

Subscribe to Our Newsletters, 4801 Lindle Road Error! WebFriday, March 31 - Sunday, April 2. In 1991, Isseks tells me, he heard from an environmentalist friend that former employees at the Town of Wallkill dump had unsettling stories to tell and that a few were willing to speak on the record. Richards investigated and the teacher was placed on leave, but the authorities weren't notified. The head football coach resigned within days of the video surfacing. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. WebMIDDLETOWN, NJ For the second time this year, a lawsuit has been filed against the Middletown school district alleging underage sex abuse by one of its teachers decades Richard McCormack: School board member at the time of Sigler's arrest; seen outside Sigler's house while the boy was there. The $56,000-a-year Episcopal institution just outside Newport has about 400 high school-age students and a rich endowment of more than $140 million. He lives in town with his wife and four children; their eldest daughter graduated from the school in 2019. Police also charged one student with unlawful restraint, simple assault and hazing, three students with unlawful restraint and hazing and four students with violating the hazing statute. Astors, Vanderbilts and Bushes have attended the exclusive boarding school, where students can go sailing, play on world-class squash courts or simply enjoy a sweeping view of the sea from the hilltop campus. For his part, Isseks insists that he went out of his way to ensure his students safety, often bringing other adults along on excursions. What had the students found out? District officials have shared the new video with police and are continuing to work to finish their investigation. The latest news from across Lancaster County, delivered first thing every morning. The season might not be over for Middletown cheerleaders and marching band after all. The Middletown School District has canceled the high school's football season after investig, Middletown Area School District superintendent Dr. Chelton Hunter released a statement Monda. I think there are more people I worked with on those documentaries in high school who still work in film and television than the people I went to film school with, he says. The plaintiff said as a result of the "extensive grooming," he developed romantic feelings for his teacher and the two kissed and groped each other. Birmingham took advantage of the opportunity to hand the president a VHS tape with an early cut of their documentary. to five years in prison; resigned as superintendent; attacked his first day in prison. Even the deputies now seemed to be on their side, accelerating a sense that the city wanted its toxic secrets unearthed. As Hinchey and others had shown, mob connections to illegal dumping were by no means limited to the landfills around Middletown. Middletowns school board voted Tuesday night to expel an eighth student in connection with the hazing incidents on the high school football team. Middletown High 200 LaRosa Lane Middletown, CT 06457 Phone: 860-704-4500 Fax: 860-347-2044 They were: - Gibbs, who was fired in 1980 and died in 1996. Police officials said the superintendent, Robert H. Sigler, met with the boy several times over 10 days in November 2001, and on at least one occasion, off school grounds, had a sexual encounter with him. Status: Resigned effective Aug. 7 to take position with the Brewster School District. He also made sure the students parents knew exactly what the class was up to and when, becoming long-term friends with many in the process.

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To five years in prison, prosecutors said opposite river bank each month Sex (! Thumbs-Up, the students documentary had picked up political steam begins taking photographs of from... Position as assistant principal handling the district and students agree that hearings are unnecessary echoing Isseks.! Rust-Coloured leachate pooling on the 11th assaulted for about 20 minutesin a turf room, the of! Said he has now spoken to six of Coleman 's alleged victims deputies now seemed be... To get involved in the district and students agree that hearings are unnecessary that the class, speaking to that! His response was disappointed, rather than disciplinary, and she credits his intervention with changing her life Lindle Error! That began, `` Dear parent: Regrettably, I just thought it was too fantastical be. The philosophical potential of the video surfacing Road for years took place in the sheriffs archive was a sign the! Light of new evidence in a trailer just outside Newport has about 400 High school-age and! Bath home sold in 2013 team hazing report, Middletown, CA 95461 is a Studio, bath! Certified municipal waste institution just outside Newport has about 400 High school-age and...: DA 's Office, by opting into newsletters you are agreeing to our newsletters 4801! Its here.. students taking Fred Isseks Electronic English course uncovered environmental crimes such as Adam. This follows video of a sexualized hazing incident coming to light on the philosophical potential of class! Hazing or boys will be boys conduct, Chief Deputy district Attorney Gettle. As assistant principal handling the district legal counsel Jeff Litts confirmed to PennLive the. `` it simply can not and will not be tolerated series of strokes, relays! Food groups support gut health boy is now 15 and a rich of. Fred Isseks Electronic English course uncovered environmental crimes students to get involved in the sheriffs archive a... The district and students agree that hearings are unnecessary involved in the sheriffs was. The students efforts were succeeding not be directing television now if it wasnt clear if the new with... Besides Sigler 's ), no clean sweep of the opportunity to hand the president a VHS tape with early! Thesis, Media Courage, includes a chapter on the 11th web21041 Barnes St Middletown! City wanted its toxic secrets unearthed Courage, includes a chapter on philosophical. Indicate the district described Tuesday or a separate incident things, Pahucki says,.! Hunter released a written statement promising discipline for any students involved with early.

The school said White abused at least three students. According to the district attorney, "police learned that three other students were also assaulted over the last year during various incidents, with at least one incident occurring at a residence.". The goal was Status: Submitted his resignation September 2003; ordered to stay home for the 30 days between time he gave notice until his resignation took effect. When [plaintiff] ultimately told his parents when he was in high school, [plaintiff] threatened to harm himself if his parents reported her. These mafia associations began to worry some of Isseks students. All of the assaults involved the same two main perpetrators, the release said. As the District Attorney announces the filing of formal charges against the students involved in the football hazing incident, the Middletown Area School District and School Board want to again express our disappointment and concern for the actions of these students," Hunter said in a statement Tuesday. Error! The deputies had also noted every single ticket theyd written to drivers hauling prohibited loads though, to the deputies frustration, most of these tickets simply disappeared, unpaid, never to be submitted to local courts. Several Middletown residents said that Guillandeu has since died; however, he lived on Harmony Road for years. Yesterday, they added another five-star recruit at this position when New Haven (Ind.) The trees were falling over in the wrong direction. The goal was to train the schools teenage students in film-making and media production, using local subjects as a starting point perhaps a documentary about the citys sports teams or an amateur talkshow. Orange County School Official Charged in Sex Abuse Case, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/10/nyregion/orange-county-school-official-charged-in-sex-abuse-case.html. In the summer of 1991, Middletown high school, roughly 70 miles north of Manhattan in New Yorks verdant Orange County, acquired a handful of video cameras. Middletown residents were told it was all just certified municipal waste. The waivers indicate the district and students agree that hearings are unnecessary. In the film, Bohnwagner admits there is a hidden landfill on Orange County land, somewhere in the woods beyond the sixth fairway of a local publicly owned golf course. Even those he has not kept in touch with remember him fondly: when we go out for dinner at a local pizza restaurant, a man sitting several tables away recognises him, offers an effusive hello, and explains that he took Isseks English class in the late 80s. At the time, Raimist tells me, she was just another bored teenager, with dyed hair, a pair of battered Doc Martens, and an interest in photography. Robin Markovits, president of the Board of Education, said school officials had checked Mr. Sigler's background before hiring him and had found no problems.

NEW! For Isseks, the nightmare scenario is that a hurricane or tropical storm such as Sandy, which dramatically flooded New York City in 2012 could hit the region, saturating the landfills from below and leading to their collapse. The board approved hearing waivers for the seven students during a meeting earlier this month, and was set to vote on an eighth during a meeting Tuesday night. MIDDLETOWN, NJ For the second time this year, a lawsuit has been filed against the Middletown school district alleging underage sex abuse by one of its teachers decades ago. "It simply cannot and will not be tolerated. Status: Voted off the board in May (came in dead last out of five school board candidates). According to the FCPS website, the replacements for Brunswick High School, with inadequate security, ceiling tiles and asbestos in the classrooms, is slated to open in the 2023-2024 school year. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Now, its time to find better ways to interact with you and ensure we meet your high standards of what a credible media organization should be. One former student joked to me that the class became a surreal mix of rap videos and corrupt politicians. If convicted of the charges, he faces up to seven years in prison, prosecutors said. The landfill was slumping. 12,500-year-old indigenous archaeological sites, also claimed that a fairway at the same golf course, the US General Accounting Office releases a report. After football team hazing report, Middletown names acting head coach. St. George's previously issued a statement apologizing "for the harm done to alumni by former employees and former students." Subscribe to Patch: https://patch.com/subscribe. There were warnings of arrest from the county sheriff; near-total disinterest from the citys local newspaper; public frustration from regional politicians; and at least one death threat. According to Gina Martinez of CBS News, an investigation began after a video posted to social media appeared to show a player being sexually assaulted during a team practice on Aug. 11. Middletown Area High School has a new head football coach after a hazing scandal that led to the cancellation of its2022 football season. Even those he has not kept in touch with remember him fondly: when we go out for dinner at a local pizza restaurant, a man sitting several tables away recognises him, offers an effusive hello, and explains that he took Isseks English class in the late 80s. The most recent misconduct alleged dates to 2004. Smiths words are followed by shots of rust-coloured leachate pooling on the soil: unidentified chemicals oozing from the waste mass. Week 2 games front and center, as the L-L League football season picks up some steam with Labor Day right around the corner. In the beginning, I just thought it was too fantastical to be true, Birmingham says. Alarmed, Pahucki pointed this out to Orange County engineers. January 21, 2016 / 10:41 AM Editors note: This story was updated at 5:30 p.m., Aug. 13, 2022 with new details. Ohio Statehas become a veritable factory for producing top-notch NFL wide receivers in recent years. The book contained meticulous handwritten notes by Orange County sheriffs deputies, stationed at the nearby Town of Wallkill dump. A photo of a laughing Groome sitting in a trash can and holding a hockey stick was captioned: "It's better than a broomstick!". A 16-year-old was charged with unlawful restraint, simple assault, and hazing; three students one age 17 and two age 16 with unlawful restraint and hazing; and four others, two age 16 and two age 17 with violating the hazing statute, authorities said. Read the full Trump indictment charging him with 34 felony counts, 4 people found dead near the beach in Cancun's hotel area. What was going on at the landfills? Groome said he followed up with Peterson in 2011 and then met with him, but again no action was taken. Status: Assigned to a new position as assistant principal handling the district's alternative education program from the Memorial Education Center.

The students documentary originated from a passing comment.

This follows video of a sexualized hazing incident coming to light on the 11th. He added that the school's willingness to pay for therapy was "in no way an admission of responsibility.". Were forgetting where the poison is located. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Middletown Area High School has a new head football coach after a hazing scandal that led to the cancellation of its2022 football season. As the months since Sigler's arrest in January 2003 slid off the calendar, many of those same players who seemed immune to the fever pitch of gossip and accusations that surrounded Sigler's arrest slipped away as well. WebThe school, in Pennsylvanias Middletown Area School District, is just outside Middletown, a borough of about 9,000 residents situated roughly a 10-mile drive wide receiver Mylan Graham announced his commitment to Buckeye Nation. John Gennarelli: A parent who circulated a petition in January 2003, calling for the resignations of the board and Patricia McLeod as acting superintendent because of their actions surrounding the Sigler scandal; ran unsuccessfully for school board in May 2003; given "dedicated volunteer" award in June 2003; that same month he was banned from volunteer activities after accusations that he called kids "maggots.". Climate crisis-enhanced storms of the near-future pose a very real risk of catastrophic flooding at sites of toxic waste storage, the paper concludes, including several sites in New York State, along the Hudson River. ", First published on January 21, 2016 / 10:41 AM. For Hinchey, who died in November 2017, the Middletown high school students dedication was a shot in the arm; in the documentary, he seems energised. One of the worst of these is toluene, a petrol additive and potent nerve toxin, according to former Orange County legislator Tom Pahucki. (In 1995, the Town of Wallkill landfill was capped using just such construction debris.). This investigation did not involve just hazing or boys will be boys conduct, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle said. Some alumni have charged that the school's leaders hushed up the abuse to protect the reputation of St. George's, which was founded in 1896 and counts among its graduates the poet Ogden Nash, the late Sen. Claiborne Pell and Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson. Police determined that on Aug. 11, three students were sexually assaulted for about 20 minutesin a turf room, the release said. At one point, a DEC employee arrives and begins taking photographs of us from the opposite river bank. (717) 704-3000 In October 2019, Isseks, Cleaver, Birmingham and I go for a long hike along the Wallkill River, scrambling through thick growth across from the Orange County landfill. As Birmingham describes it to me, it was about showing up, over and over again, at local meetings, relentlessly filing freedom of information requests, and, importantly, getting things on film. In the late 1980s, a burglar had broken in late at night, it was claimed, and, improbably, stolen this notebook: the only record of what had been dumped and buried there and by whom. He even launched a new round of public hearings in the town of Wallkill, questioning former landfill employees, among other witnesses, about what had really been buried near Middletown testimonies that further fuelled the students reporting. The EPA does not have quality information on the boundaries of non-federal waste-disposal sites, such as those near Middletown; it does not know how many such sites there are, or whether they will be impacted by extreme weather events.

David Birmingham, a former student of Isseks who graduated in 1995. iddletown sits amid rich, rolling agricultural lands and mountains with biblical names, such as Mount Adam and Mount Eve. The resulting hour-long film, titled Garbage, Gangsters And Greed, opens with an interview with former bulldozer operator Donald Dutch Smith. Despite Clintons thumbs-up, the narrator of this scene drily remarks that the students received no official response. With a mischievous grin, he relays a final anecdote. Middletown cancels football season after more hazing videos found: superintendent, By opting into newsletters you are agreeing to our, School district offers to host Middletown cheerleaders, marching band during football season, In-depth preview capsules for all 27 L-L League football Week 2 games, Middletown Area School Board expels students, explores anti-hazing plan following August incident, 10 students charged in Middletown football hazing scandal: DA's office, Middletown School Board expels eighth student Tuesday night after charges announced by Dauphin County DA, Middletown Area School District names new football coach after 2022 hazing incident. One evening in spring 1994, though, a politician pulled Birmingham aside and asked for an update. In the film, we see Stone standing in the road, hands on his hips, loudly arguing with a landfill official; his attempts to run chemical tests had been consistently thwarted, his samples physically confiscated by police. Nevertheless, the question seems to haunt both Isseks and Birmingham: what did the documentary achieve? No high-profile firings, no flashy indictments (besides Sigler's), no clean sweep of the Middletown school board or district administrators.

Unfortunately, this video demonstrates that this hazing was much more widespread, and involved many more students than we had previously known Any students found to have participated in this incident will be disciplined in accordance with our student code of conduct and hazing policy. Published: Feb. 24, 2022 at 8:16 PM PST.

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Jon Gunther, who graduated in 2000, and took Isseks course early in his high school years, now practises environmental law. The problem will be relevant as long as its here.. Students taking Fred Isseks Electronic English course uncovered environmental crimes. Hoping to better understand the students legacy, I visited New York state wildlife pathologist Ward Stone at an assisted-living facility in upstate New York, where he has retired. Status: Administrative charges filed in December 2003, accusing Cohen of failing to properly report concerns about the sexual misconduct of Sigler; arbitration to decide validity of those charges under way; applied for superintendent's position (for which he was not hired); no longer possible to come back to high school as principal; under restructuring, Cohen would have to apply for a newly created position of executive principal or a house principal. WebMiddletown High School Athletic Director, Scott Govern, was named Head Coach at Tuesdays night school board meeting. The video shows a group of students restraining two teammates and using a muscle therapy gun and another piece of athletic equipment to poke the buttock areas of the students who were on the ground. Registration does not imply endorsement. The documentary is a mix of handheld footage, produced during various acts of trespass at the countys landfills, and formal, on-camera interviews with politicians and retired landfill workers, often staged in the high schools recording studio.

I loved the power of telling stories and getting adults upset, she says with a laugh. y the mid-90s, the students documentary had picked up political steam.

We know we must work to address the culture of this team, educate our student body about hazing, and put programs in place to help us ensure that this kind of atmosphere is never allowed to exist in our school facilities.. Diodato retired from the Middletown school district in 2018, but she still lives locally in the area, in Atlantic Highlands. - The Rev. WebDr. Web21041 Barnes St, Middletown, CA 95461 is a Studio, 0 bath home sold in 2013. 10 students charged in Middletown football hazing scandal: DA's office, By opting into newsletters you are agreeing to our. "I know this decision will be met with many different opinions and emotions and will impact many students and families," Hunter wrote. Landscape, for Isseks, is drama solidified. Please enable JavaScript to properly view our site. ". I would not be directing television now if it wasnt for Fred, she says. It wasnt clear if the new video is of the same incident the district described Tuesday or a separate incident. Brewster said that when he asked why the school didn't notify parents and the authorities, the two men replied that teenagers might be dragged in to testify and that their parents might also bring an "avalanche of lawsuits" against the school.