L.A. Unified officials knew of molestation allegations against principal
After Steve Thomas Rooney was accused of sex with a student, administrators moved him to a desk job. He was later transferred to another school but apparently was never internally cleared.
Senior Los Angeles school officials, including the district's police chief and its former chief operating officer, knew of sex allegations against a school administrator months before he was transferred to a Watts middle school, where he allegedly molested two students, officials said Monday.
District officials have been heavily criticized for allowing former Assistant Principal Steve Thomas Rooney back into a school after he had been accused of sexual contact with a student. Until now, however, it was unclear how much school officials knew about the original allegations, how early they knew about them or how broadly that knowledge spread through the district's bureaucracy.
Statements on Monday by Dan Isaacs, who retired last year as the district's chief operating officer, and Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Charlie Beck make clear that the knowledge reached the highest echelons of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Beck said top district officials were told as far back as the spring of 2007 that Rooney was suspected of having had sex with a student at Foshay Learning Center, starting when she was 15 years old.
Police told district officials of the allegations after Rooney was arrested for waving a gun at the girl's stepfather, Beck said. School officials initially placed Rooney in a desk position in the local district office, then transferred him to Markham Middle School in Watts in August. He allegedly molested two students at Markham and now faces criminal charges involving all three students.
Isaacs confirmed that police had notified the district about the molestation case involving the Foshay student and said he had quickly alerted all responsible parties in the chain of command.
Below him, Isaacs said, that included the local district superintendent, Carol Truscott, and the principal at Fremont High, where Rooney was working at the time of his arrest (he was immediately removed from his position there).
Isaacs said he communicated the information to superiors through a memo addressed to Supt. David L. Brewer and the school board.
It remains unclear why the district allowed Rooney to work at Markham when several top officials knew about the molestation investigation. Assignment to a desk job is standard procedure for an employee who is suspected of improper activity but has not been determined to be guilty of an offense for which he could be fired. Isaacs said he didn't know what happened to Rooney's case after Isaacs' retirement in June.
