By Darlene Johnson, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — Approximately 280 Virginia teachers have lost their license over two decades for felony sex crimes with a minor or a student, or inappropriate misconduct involving a minor or student.

That is just over 41% of the teachers who had action taken against their license, according to Capital News Service analysis.

The Virginia Department of Education has tracked the data since at least 2000. A teacher can lose their license for any misdemeanor or felony that involves a student or minor, and also for misconduct considered to be detrimental to students, among other reasons. Not all conduct detrimental to students involves a crime or sexual misconduct.

Almost 700 educators had action taken against their license. The causes ranged from sex crimes such as sexual abuse of minors, production of child pornography using students without their knowledge and sexting with students, to felony convictions that involved drugs and murder.

Overall, it is a low number of licenses lost when compared to Virginia's approximately 92,000 teachers. But the sexual misconduct or abuse allegations made annually against teachers are much higher. Many child safety advocates think child sexual abuse prevention, overall, and in schools, could still be improved with better reporting mechanisms and more consistent discussion, training, and resources.

Legislation passed in 2008 required Virginia courts to report known teacher convictions for certain offenses. The law also called for local school boards to create policies to address complaints of sexual abuse of a student by a teacher or employee. A majority of actions against teacher licenses in the VDOE database were made after 2011, the year the state Board of Education passed guidelines to help prevent sexual misconduct and abuse in Virginia schools.

The guidelines called for clear procedures on how to report suspected misconduct and abuse, and for training of school personnel and volunteers. The guidelines also outlined types of inappropriate conduct with a student.

Tracking sexual misconduct in schools

Charol Shakeshaft is a professor in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. She began researching school employee sexual misconduct in the 1980s. Teacher-initiated sexual misconduct occurs more than it is reported, according to Shakeshaft.

"I believe that we have left it to children to keep themselves safe," Shakeshaft said. "We need to stop expecting children to be responsible for their safety in schools and expect school employees to keep children safe."

Children may be less likely to report sexual abuse by school employees for reasons such as threats, feeling that no one will believe them or believing the behavior is acceptable, Shakeshaft said.

"I believe we care more about the comfort of adults than the safety of children," Shakeshaft said. "Tracking this information shines a light on adult sexual misconduct and misbehavior."

Students and school employees need training and education to better prevent abuse, and to encourage better reporting, Shakeshaft said.

'One case is too many'

Every Virginia teacher is required by state law to complete training in child abuse recognition and intervention as a condition of initial licensure. The training is not required for renewal of a license if it has already been done once. Every Virginia teacher is required to report suspected abuse, according to state law.

Protecting students from adult misconduct is a shared responsibility that must be a priority at all levels, stated Superintendent of Public Instruction Lisa Coons in a release to Capital News Service. 

"While the school employees who offend often represent a small fraction of the commonwealth's teachers and support staff, one case is one too many for our children," Coons stated. Coons will continue to expect "diligence in reporting and supporting state board processes to remove licensure for misconduct." 

Individual school districts maintain records of alleged sexual misconduct, according to the VDOE. School employees must report alleged or suspected abuse to school administrators, and to the Virginia State Child Abuse Hotline or the Department of Social Services. 

The DSS investigates and tracks the number of alleged reports made. The VDOE tracks when DSS makes a founded disposition against a teacher that leads to licensure action. That means the investigation met the required evidence standard, which is based primarily on direct evidence, not anonymous complaints. The actions must also be proven to be out of the scope of employment.

The VDOE reports all actions against licenses to a national database, and checks the database monthly, Pyle stated.

There is a lot of variation between the number of abuse reports made to DSS, the number of founded victims, and the number of licenses that were lost.

In a seven-year period, DSS received almost 12,000 statewide allegations of abuse or misconduct by a school employee or teacher. The number of allegations against teachers is higher. The most recent data available through the DSS accountability reporting portal was from 2013-2020. However, action was only taken against 377 teaching licenses in that same time frame.

Proving sexual misconduct in schools can be 'difficult'

Sexual abuse was the third most frequent type of child abuse in Virginia last year. There were just over 3,000 investigations of alleged sexual abuse by Child Protective Services, which is a part of DSS.

There were 809 cases of sexual abuse that met the CPS "evidence standard," or 26% of investigated cases, according to the most recent DSS report. The burden of proof required by state code is just enough evidence to make it more likely than not that the asserted facts are true.

Schools are the No. 1 place outside of the family where abuse occurs. There were 48 founded abuse cases in Virginia public schools last year and four cases in private schools, according to DSS. There were over 400 reports made.

CPS investigates allegations of sexual abuse that occur within a school or home, along with law enforcement as the situation demands.

Both teacher advocates and CPS workers have previously expressed the need for improved guidance on sexual abuse complaints involving school employees, according to a 2019 report from the Virginia Commission on Youth.

The Commission noted that proving a case of sexual abuse by a school employee has additional reporting elements that can be difficult, and that the scope of employment standard should not apply. Several recommendations were made to improve training material and reporting processes.

Record requests of sexual misconduct or abuse 

CNS sent records requests to 10 of the state's largest school districts to get the total number of any sexual assaults or misconduct reports made against faculty, staff, or employees in a recent three-year period.

 Only four districts provided the records without charging a fee. Government organizations can charge the public a fee to fill a Freedom of Information Act request.

Chesapeake City responded that there were 11 reports alleging sexual misconduct with a student since 2019. Henrico County reported 23 instances. Stafford County had four. Richmond City had five reports in 2022. The reports represent allegations made, and should not be considered confirmation of guilt or misconduct.

Other districts either did not respond, stated they had no available records, or quoted costs to fill the records anywhere between $125 to $418.

Chesterfield County told CNS multiple times that there were no records "responsive to the request." CNS pressed the agency for clarification. The representative responded that they do not have an "existing" record and they would have to "pull individual records and create a report."

The agency stated that they are not required to create a record in response to a FOIA request, and they considered the request closed. This is technically accurate, and the better request would have been just for all records of allegations.

However, no other school district denied the request due to wording.

CNS also sent a records request to DSS. The department pointed to a dashboard that provides an overview of alleged abuse or neglect reports. 2020 is the most recent year data is available. 

The DSS dashboard shows higher numbers than what school districts provided, but it also includes other forms of abuse that could lead to action against a teacher's license. 

Combined allegations made against teachers and school employees:

• Chesapeake City: 118 total allegations in 2019 and 97 total allegations in 2020.

• Chesterfield County: 59 total allegations in 2019 and 50 total allegations in 2020. 

• Henrico County: 116 total allegations in 2019 and six total allegations in 2020.

• Richmond City: 102 total allegations in 2019 and 62 total allegations in 2020.

• Stafford County: 20 total allegations in 2019 and 22 total allegations in 2020.

Number of actions against teaching licenses in the above districts since 2000:

• Chesapeake City had 12 licensure actions.

• Chesterfield County had 25 licensure actions.

• Henrico County had 31 licensure actions.

• Richmond City had 18 licensure actions.

• Stafford County had 12 licensure actions.

Audit finds excessive CPS caseload

Almost 53,000 children were identified as possible victims of child abuse or neglect in Virginia last year, according to the DSS. That includes mental and sexual abuse.

Of the total identified, 4,911 victims met the evidence standard in investigations. Some children experienced more than one type of abuse.

However, almost 40,000 of those children received a "family assessment response." DSS uses that as an "alternative response" to an investigation. The assessment includes determining if there are immediate child safety concerns, services needs of the child and family that could deter abuse or neglect, and risk of future harm to the child.

The Office of the Inspector General released a statewide audit of CPS departments last year that recommended several ways the department could improve.

One finding from the report was that case screening was not always handled in accordance with CPS requirements. The audit found instances where referrals made to CPS should have been assigned an investigation track instead of a family assessment track, and vice versa.

Another finding from the survey of local DSS offices throughout Virginia was that some workers feel they have an excessive caseload. There is no limit to the number of cases each CPS case worker may have at one time, according to the audit. Some offices were also reportedly understaffed.

The Inspector General's office concluded that important details regarding a referral could be overlooked if an office was understaffed. A recommendation was to determine the appropriate workload standards for CPS staff.

 There are over 40 open DSS jobs currently listed for family services positions that would work on such reports of child abuse.

Sex abuse awareness takes center stage

Forty years ago, conversations about good, bad and secret touches were not common in Virginia schools.

The play "Hugs and Kisses" launched in Richmond in 1983 to teach children how to identify, report and protect themselves from sexual abuse.

The theater company estimated the play has served as an early intervention for the approximately 20,000 students who disclosed that abuse was taking place after seeing the play, according to Amber Martinez, the Virginia Repertory Theatre play coordinator.

There are about 150 performances of the play each year, and an estimated 45,000 to 55,000 students view it annually, according to Martinez.

Sexual abuse awareness education, based on state code and source interviews, is not consistently reinforced throughout Virginia schools. The "Hugs and Kisses" play is not mandatory, and schools choose how often they host the play, according to Martinez.

There has been pushback, especially in recent years, from school administrators and parents who are uncomfortable with discussion of "child sexual abuse," according to Martinez. However, those schools will usually schedule a performance after they review the script and see testimonials, she stated over email.

"I will say that with the new governor we've had, it's been trickier, and that's where politics and local voting is so important — it trickles down to what we teach and learn in schools," Martinez stated.

Teaching children and adults

Each school locality can decide if it will offer family life education. Some have called FLE Virginia's version of "sex education."

The FLE curriculum must include age-appropriate and evidence-based programs on topics that include, among others, awareness and recognition of child sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and the meaning of consent, according to state code.

The importance of personal privacy and how to honor boundaries are also taught. The curriculum is reviewed every seven years and was last updated in 2020.

Nineteen of the state's 132 school divisions did not offer FLE, according to a 2021 Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction survey. The greatest concentration of school divisions that did not provide FLE are in Southwest Virginia.

Republican lawmakers in 2022, as part of the governor's efforts to promote parental rights in schools, introduced a bill to require parental consent before a child takes the FLE courses, and to allow review of any of the material in advance. The bill passed the House on a party-line vote, but failed to pass in the Senate.

FLE does not replace the responsibility of adults to keep children safe, Shakeshaft said. But the training could lead to an increase in reporting abuse, she said.

"We need to teach students about boundaries," Shakeshaft said. "More importantly, we need to teach the adults better about boundaries."

Families Forward created the Darkness to Light program curriculum, which teaches adults to identify when a child may be experiencing sexual assault, said Jamia Crockett, CEO of the organization. Families Forward works with educators and mandated abuse reporters through the school system, law enforcement and mental health professionals.

They also provide parent-peer support groups through their Circle of Parents program. This allows parents to have a peer network to connect with the proper authorities to report issues if they find out their child is a victim of sexual abuse, Crockett said.

'Adults normalize harm'

 Laurie Tasharski is the director of institutional abuse prevention for Stop Child Abuse Now in Northern Virginia. A comprehensive training approach is needed to better understand and report sexual abuse, she said. Training should focus on the ways children often disclose they are victims, even in ways they often "hint" at how a person makes them feel.

Instagram has become a place where young adults disclose abuse, Tasharski said.

"Kids are far, far more likely to disclose to friends or to disclose on social media than to tell an adult," she said. "I think part of that is that adults normalize harm between kids, and adults don't react well."

The burden of support for a survivor or a victim falls more heavily on younger people, through the ways they disclose abuse, she said.

Virginia training is more technical and focused on reporting the crime ‒ such as names of children involved and ages ‒ than it is about helping kids disclose information, Tasharski said.

"What we want to do is have conversations that make it safe for kids to say, 'that person makes me feel uncomfortable,'" Tasharski added.

Students need more education based on preventing sexual abuse, Tasharski said. There is focus on school security in schools, such as metal detectors and active shooter drills. This is important, she said, but the number of children who have experienced abuse is also incredibly high. Approximately 3.5 million child abuse cases are reported annually, according to SCAN.

"Prevention work is always going to feel less important than anything that ends up with the police at your door or a criminal charge," Tasharki said. "Unfortunately, we have a system that is geared to reacting when a crime is committed instead of preventing escalation of harm."

By Darlene Johnson, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – William H. “Bozo” Winston Jr. was athletic and family oriented up until the day of his murder in 1986. He was 23 years old.

“We played football, basketball — whatever — together,” said Taras Winston Sr., William’s brother and youngest of four siblings. “When he had a chance, he would always pick me, put me on his team.”

William played football at Armstrong High School and basketball at the Powhatan Community Center in Richmond, his brother said. He also played baseball and was a lifeguard.

Taras Winston had a good relationship with his brother until William started selling drugs, he said.

 “He just got involved with the wrong gang and it cost him his life,” said brother Darryl Winston.

On the morning of March 12, 1986, Taras Winston told William he loved him and would see him after school. William was not there when he returned home.

Taras Winston was home alone that night when Henrico County police rang the doorbell. Police held William’s ID. Taras Winston thought William was in trouble with the law, but police eventually told him William was found dead near a creek. 

William was shot in the head and multiple times all over his body. He was the first murder victim in the county that year, according to a video about the case made by Henrico County. His case remains unsolved almost four decades later.

Virginia State Police partnered this year with enforcement agencies across the state to create a database of unsolved, or “cold” cases. The database, launched in June, includes unsolved homicides and unidentified and missing people cases. The Winston family hopes the database could surface more leads to find William’s killer.

Tragedy struck the Winston family again almost a year later when they lost their cousin Judson Calvin to gun violence. The Winston brothers think Calvin’s murder was connected to William’s murder. They believe Calvin, whose case also remains unsolved, may have been murdered for what he knew about William’s murder.

Del. Danica Roem, D-Manassas, had unanimous support from both chambers for her 2020 measure to create the statewide database. She introduced the bill in 2018, but it was killed in appropriations. Lawmakers appropriated over $100,000 to create the database and fund a full-time employee to maintain the website. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, budget spending was put on pause because of economic uncertainty, Roem said. Virginia State Police began designing the website based on unsolved case databases in other states, such as Connecticut and Florida.

“We put this [the bill] in because other states have existing precedence or other cases being solved because other states have cold case databases,” Roem said.

The database could bring closure, accountability and justice to unsolved crimes, Roem said. It was also important that the public knows about unsolved cases, she said, to make this information accessible while maintaining “government transparency and government accountability.”

The database has expanded to over 100 cases and more will be added over time. There have been over 100 clicks to the website since its launch in July, stated Corinne Geller, Virginia State Police public relations director, in an October email reply.

News coverage, along with promotion from law enforcement, state prosecutors and courts will help garner attention to the database and cases, Roem believes.

Darryl and Taras Winston said news, media and digital billboards should be utilized to raise awareness for unsolved cases. 

The state police’s goal is to “keep increasing awareness of the cold case website and its reach among the public,” Geller stated.

“Just because the murders haven’t [been] solved doesn’t mean they’re not still relevant,” Roem said.

Darryl and Taras Winston hope to see Williams’s case put into the database. Henrico County, where William was murdered, is not one of the 15 law enforcement offices listed on the site as database contributors. 

The discussion of Henrico County police joining the state database is ongoing, Lt. Matthew Pecka stated in an email. Spreading information about these cases is important to generate leads and new discussions, he stated.

“We’re looking for something to be done about it,” Taras Winston said. “Any help that we can get at solving my brother’s case, we’ll greatly appreciate that … the smallest thing might be the thing that breaks the case open.”

Key witnesses sometimes wait “years later” until they feel safe to speak to law enforcement, or sometimes suspects make a “deathbed confession,” Geller stated.

“Sometimes a person's conscience gets the better of them and prompts them to turn themselves in,” Geller stated.

Darryl Winston believes witnesses may have been worried about their own encounters with law enforcement. He hopes people will be more comfortable coming forward now since 36 years have passed.

People can contribute tips — even anonymous tips — through the website, or contact the lead law enforcement agency investigating a case.

An unsolved homicide case dating back to 2003 received new leads thanks to the database, according to a report from The Roanoke Times.

“It’s effective and it works,” Roem said, “but it will only be effective and it will only work if the public knows about it and if the public engages with it.”

Other cold cases out of Henrico County currently not in the database are the violent murders of Mike Margaret and Donna Hall in August 1984. Margaret, 21, and Hall, 18, were found stabbed to death with their throats cut in a wooded area that is now a suburban landscape. The narcotic sedative Demerol was found in their blood, police said. There has long been speculation they knew their attackers and that the couple were dabbling in drug use with possible interest to purchase a larger quantity. 

Police have never unearthed any clear motive for the gruesome murder. Investigators had limited access to DNA from the crime scene, due to heavy rains between when the murders likely took place and when the bodies were found by a dog walker. 

Scott Margaret, Mike’s brother, is satisfied with police work on the case “in a lot of ways,” but he thinks “too much red tape” gets in the way of solving the crime. Some agencies might not want to work together because they want to solve the cases on their own, he said.

“The quicker you get outside help in some of these cases, the quicker you will be able to solve a lot of them,” Margaret said.

To raise more awareness for unsolved cases and the database, Margaret suggested ads on local news stations, pop-up ads online and information on interstate billboards.

Margaret will request his brother and Hall’s case be added to the unsolved case database.

Roem recommends citizens visit the website at least once, to see if they recognize a case or have a tip to contribute. 

“Don’t just see this as a nice gesture from the state,” Roem said. “There is potential for positive outcomes as awareness of the database grows.”

Cases are displayed on the homepage at random to ensure all victims are highlighted equally, according to state police. Cases are also spotlit on associated anniversary days.

“Enhancing the website to include additional features is a goal of ours we hope to achieve over time,” Geller stated in an email.

Citizens can search cases by name, date, location, reporting agency and type of case — and case pages can be shared. People can request a case to be included in the database by contacting the lead agency of the case. People can leave questions or comments on the website, and choose to remain anonymous. There is also an option to be emailed back.

“The stories are screaming out silently right now and they’re waiting to be retold,” Roem said.

‘Rush is never worth the risk,’ says mother of daughter struck and killed by truck

By Darlene Johnson, Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. – October is National Pedestrian Safety Awareness Month. September was Bicyclist and Pedestrian Awareness Month in Virginia. Fatal accidents and injuries involving road users increased last year, according to traffic crash facts from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Cyclist Natalie Rainer was struck in mid-August by a driver who was charged with driving under the influence.

“I have damage to my organs,” Rainer said. “I have a lot of road rash on my skin.”

Rainer was cycling with C. Jonah Holland on a popular bike route in east Henrico County when they were hit. Holland died at the scene and Rainer was badly injured. Her pelvis, ribs and collarbone were broken. Rainer was in the intensive care unit for a week, then placed in the trauma unit for two weeks, she said.

Rainer called the crash a “random occurrence,” where she and Holland were at the “wrong place at the wrong time.”

Jeffery Brooks, 18, awaits trial on felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor DUI charges.

“One of the scariest things that you can do is operate a car badly, because you put so many people at risk,” Rainer said.

Crashes involving a vehicle increased by 12.2% from 2020-21, according to the DMV’s traffic crash facts. Crashes that involved a vehicle and a pedestrian increased 12.6% in the same time period. The number of pedestrians injured in such crashes increased 11.7%. The number of pedestrian fatalities rose 9.7%.

There was a 100% increase in fatal crashes that involved a cyclist; rising from eight to 16 cyclists killed.

Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, became an advocate of safer streets after he cycled cross country and had several close calls, he said. There should be more driver education and awareness, he said, along with improvements to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. That will help minimize risk to vulnerable road users, he said. For example, roads given high speed limits years ago would need updates to accommodate further developments.

Lack of law enforcement is another big issue, Surovell said. The General Assembly passed the Hands-Free law in 2020, banning cellphone use while driving, but Surovell said he does not see enough enforcement.

Distracted driving crashes increased by over 11% from 2020-21, according to the DMV.

“Put your phone down, take a deep breath,” Surovell said. “Be more attentive, be more courteous. Slow down.”

Rainer echoed that.

“There is no need for speed in our city streets,” she said.

Traffic crashes where speed was a factor increased by 9.5% last year, according to the DMV.

Rainer urged cyclists to be vigilant and wear protective gear, bright colors and have blinking tail lights. She suggested riding where people expect cyclists. Street markings and signs alerting drivers to cyclists would help, she said.

Rainer “will ride a bike again,” she said, although it will take a while before she is physically able. She will likely ease into it by riding with large groups and near home.

“I’ll never stop loving the sport,” Rainer said.

Pedestrian and bicycle safety advocates said there are a host of efforts needed to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries.

More people have been walking and cycling since the pandemic began, according to Doug Allen.

Allen is an avid cyclist and sits on the board of directors for the Virginia Bicycling Federation. Less traffic on roads at the start of the pandemic led to more reckless driving, Allen said. Vehicles are bigger, heavier and faster which is a “bad equation” when there are more reckless drivers and more people sharing the roads.

“People will drive as fast as they feel comfortable driving,” Allen said.

Allen believes infrastructure design should be the primary focus of making streets safer.

“Using enforcement as a hammer to try and make safer streets is not a great idea,” he said. Design changes could help reduce the need for police interaction, and help avoid a potentially “dangerous situation.”

Allen recommended that all road users be aware of their surroundings and limit distractions when traveling. There should be more frequent driver education testing to refresh people and familiarize them with new laws, Allen said. Driver education courses should teach how to interact with pedestrians and cyclists, he said.

October is a hard time of year for Khrystal Bethea-Artis. Her 16-year-old daughter Aajah Rosemond died while walking to the store along Jahnke Road in the early evening in October 2020. Rosemond was killed when two vehicles crashed and one struck her, according to Bethea-Artis.

Bethea-Artis believes her daughter died in part due to bad driver behavior that cannot be unlearned. This includes people speeding, driving under the influence and having road rage, she said.

“The rush is never worth the risk,” Bethea-Artis said.

Surovell hopes learned behavior can be changed.

“It took a while, but we got people to put on seat belts,” he said, as an example.

Bethea-Artis offered testimony earlier this year on behalf of legislation that created stiffer penalties for careless driving that injures or kills a road user. The driver of the vehicle that caused the accident that led to her daughter’s death was only penalized $200 and charged with reckless driving, Bethea-Artis told a legislative subcommittee in January.

Bethea-Artis hopes her advocacy will help ensure other parents do not experience such loss.

“If it’s one voice, it’s like an echo in a hallway,” she said.

If the community works together, she said it could create the change needed to decrease traffic fatalities.

Rosemond’s family will be at the corner of Jahnke and German School roads on Sunday, Oct. 16 from 1-5 p.m. People are encouraged to join and commemorate the loss of their loved ones to traffic fatalities.

“We will not let that day just pass,” Bethea-Artis said.