6 agree on new Dist. 204 victim's rights policy

As the 13 candidates for four vacant Indian Prairie Unit District 204 seats prepare for their first forum tonight, many agree on at least one thing.

Nearly all six of the 13 candidates interviewed, said they believe the district should have already had a victim's rights policy in place to protect the alleged victim in connection with a Nov. 11 incident involving three Gregory Middle School students.

Two boys - a 12-year-old and an 11-year-old, both from Naperville - have been charged with felony counts of criminal sexual abuse and criminal sexual assault against another boy stemming from a November incident at a home on the city's south side. The 11-year-old also faces a misdemeanor count of battery in a separate incident involving the same alleged victim - this time in the halls of Gregory.

The 12-year-old transferred out of District 204 this week to Lincoln Junior High School in neighboring Naperville Unit District 203.

Administrators currently have the authority to reassign students to another attendance center if they believe the change is warranted. The accused, however, could not be moved to an alternative school program because the incidents alleged took place off school grounds and they were in no danger of being expelled from District 204.

"My belief is that the district should prohibit the accused children from attending school in the district until the charges are decided in the juvenile courts," said candidate Mark Rising. "It should be the priority of the district, the Illinois School Board Association and the state to put rules into place that protect the victim and all of the children of the school district."

Candidate Dawn DeSart said she is embarrassed by the way the district has handled the case. She said it is not too late to move the remaining student into another middle school.

"The alleged victim should not have to see the accused every day because both of the accused boys should have been removed immediately," DeSart said. "At this point, the whole situation has imploded and the whole community is in an uproar, but it's not too late."

She said the district and other schools should realize the remaining boy is not a threat to anyone but the victim.

"The only remaining threat is to the alleged victim, not the community at large at this point," she said. "So the accused boy needs to be in another school yesterday."

Michael Crockett also supports implementing a new policy, like several public districts in other states have, that also call for the immediate removal of accused students.

"The district has clearly dropped the ball regarding off-campus violence," Crockett said. "Even today we still have a situation where a family in the same scenario would still be in the same situation because they have not addressed the policy. That I do not understand."

Janey Wagner said she agrees with the administration that moving the child at this point would be a mistake.

"Any moving of students at this point would just be shifting the problem around, so I think we definitely need to cover our selves better for the future with some revised policies," Wagner said. "I'm just baffled by the whole situation and wish I had a magic wand to make things right."

Incumbent Cathy Piehl said board members are already doing the right thing by examining several potential policy changes, including one that would automatically move students accused of serious crimes into another district school.

"I personally felt the procedure and policy in place were adequate and followed, but we may need to change the way people can talk about what's going on," Piehl said. "We definitely need to look at policy and maybe massage it to be more transparent."

Incumbent Chris Vickers also called for more transparency but also for more involvement from local law enforcement agencies.

"The first course of corrective action I would consider changing would be that the police be required to notify school district officials immediately when students are involved in criminal activity," Vickers said. "If a determination is made that it would be in the best interests of all parties to transfer a student to another building within the district, the district would then use its authority to do so."

Candidates Michael Strick and Eric Hepburn were unavailable for comment. Yuming Huang, Donald Moscato III, Jerry Huang and Doug DiFusco all declined to return calls.

The first of four candidate forums begins at 7 tonight at Waubonsie Valley High School, 2590 Route 34 in Aurora.