Dan Hegarty
Posted by Webmaster in ME-MV, Math, Middle Schools, Private Schools, Virginia(11/29/008 – Initial BadBadTeacher.com Report)
Dan Hegarty, 39, a seventh and eight-grade math teacher at Browne Academy, a private school in Alexandria, Virginia, has been charged with taking indecent liberties with a child.
On November 10th, around 8:30 pm, an eight-year-old boy who had been swimming at the Spring Hill Recreation Center went to the locker room to change clothes.
Reportedly, while in the locker room changing clothes the boy was approached and subsequently fondled by a naked man. The boy who was not injured and reported the incident to his parents.
Police were contacted and a composite sketch of the man who allegedly molested the boy was prepared and released to news media and in the form of flyers seeking the identify of the alleged child molester.
Reportedly the composite sketch resulted in tips identifying Hegarty.
On November 25th, Hegarty turned himself in at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Although Hegarty is initially charged with only the single alleged incident investigators are concerned there may be other victims and are asking that anyone with information pertaining to other incidents contact them at (703) 691-2131.
Hegarty who has reportedly been placed on administrative leave by the school is also a coach and referee for boys hockey in Montgomery County.
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This case never had merit from the beginning. An 8 year old makes an unfounded accusation that supposedly occurred in a well attended, public locker room, with the boy’s parent a few feet away. And the child’s story was woefully inconsistent, changing time and time again. Eventually, reasonable men/women prevailed (even the prosecutor countenanced that they had no case), and the charges were dropped.
There is no crueler tyranny than good men and woman having been wrongly accused of child abuse. Look to the Fells Acre (Malden, MA) debacle from the 1980’s, where an entire family was decimated and eventually imprisoned because of conjured charges made by young kids, fed and prodded by fearful parents, and zealous/misguided prosecutors. These charges too, all rubbish.
Mr. Hegarty’s life was turned upside down, and his entire history reviewed and scrutinized. We make take solace that this rigorous research (which included thousands of photographs and corresponedences from Mr. Hegarty’s personal/school computer equipment) yielded not a shred of evidence which would indicate injurious behavior of any categorization. All evidence supports colleague/student/mentee assertions that Mr. Hegarty is a stand-up and fine gentleman, who was victimized by a single, baseless and false accusation.
Unfortunately, the truth is often not heralded with the same enthusiasm as fictional denouncements. In result, a good man’s reputation is unjustifiably defamed. Let’s hope that our community does the right thing, and supports Mr. Hegarty as the fine and honorable man he has long proven himself to be. Else, we are more diminished than he.
It is unfortunate that our society prints charges and keeps them up on a website, long after the gentleman in question’s innocence was determined in the court of law.
Mr. Hegarty is a good man and he fell victim to our society’s need to publish the bad and not follow up with “All charges were dropped.” or “He was found innocent.” It is unfortunate that the Internet has memoralized this tragic event, which harmed a good teacher’s reputation.
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
my brother was taught by him and the school was still letting him teach about one day after the incedent. they let us have an extra day off for winter break. he doesnt teach my school anymore.
All charges were dropped.
What is the status on this case? Did it go to court?