Brewer apologizes in sex case
Saying he hadn't "slept well in days," Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer told parents at Markham Middle School on Thursday that he is investigating "how a policy and system we have in place failed" when an administrator previously investigated for allegedly having sex with a Foshay Learning Center student was transferred to Markham.
The administrator, Assistant Principal Steve Thomas Rooney, 39, was arrested last week and charged with five counts of forcible lewd acts on a 13-year-old Markham student.
"I am deeply, deeply sorry . . . for this incident," Brewer told a gathering of more than 100 parents and students who had come to hear an explanation of why Rooney was transferred to Markham despite the allegations. Rooney was arrested in early 2007 after allegedly pulling a gun on the Foshay student's stepfather, but police said they did not file charges because the student was by then 18 and refused to cooperate.
Nevertheless, a written district policy makes clear that in cases where law enforcement drops an investigation into a district employee, the school system has "a heightened responsibility for the safety of its students" and should continue to investigate even if police do not file charges.
The mother, grandmother and stepfather of the girl from Foshay said Thursday that the school system never sought them out.
The grandmother, who asked for anonymity to protect her granddaughter's privacy, said she went on her own accord to Foshay in spring 2007 to discuss Rooney with school officials. She said an administrator told her to stop asking questions about Rooney and assured her that he would soon be fired.
The official "said it would be too much of a scandal to say anything," the grandmother recalled in an interview with The Times.
Brewer said he has authorized his legal office to appoint an independent outside counsel to investigate what happened in the Rooney case. He also said he will form a task force to review all employees currently under any suspicion before they can return to a school site.
He promised "to educate parents, staff and students on inappropriate behavior," saying "we have to do a better job making sure they're more vigilant."
Brewer said he had no information about statements by police that officers fully informed district officials about the findings of their investigation of Rooney. That too will be explored, Brewer said.
