(04/21/08 - Initial BBT Report)
John A. Bender, 61, a computer teacher at Gateway Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri has been charged with first degree statutory sodomy and first degree child molestation.
It is alleged that Bender improperly touched a 12-year-old female student in a closet next to his classroom during the month of September of last year.
Bender, who is in his 37th year of teaching, has been suspended, reportedly with pay, since November when the allegations surfaced.
When arrested Bender will reportedly have to post a $100,000 cash-only bond to secure his release.
Gateway Elementary School Principal Richard Sirna has been charged with failing to report the incident to the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social services. It is alleged that Sirna had “reasonable cause to suspect” that the student “had been or may have been subject to abuse or neglect.” Sirna has a May 15 court date on the misdemeanor charge.
04/22/08 - Additional Information
KSDK television is reporting that the alleged victim rather than being a 12-year-old female is instead a 10-year-old female.
References:
Gateway School Teacher Charged with Sex Crime (04/22/08)
Elementary School Teacher Faces Molestation Charge (04/21/08)
Teacher, bus driver face sex charges (04/21/08)
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August 28th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
The superintendent of the school in Annawan, IL was told of an incident that happened at their school. He not only did nothing about it, he gave a letter of recommendation to the teacher that did it. That teacher moved on to another school and did worse there. Only he got caught there. Now he’s facing charges in both cases because the parents pursued it. It happens. Administration doesn’t want to deal with it so they pass the buck. It’s a sad, sad world we live in. If you want to read more about the case, do a search for “Mike Wetzell”. There are plenty of comments there to read.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:31 am
WE HAVE KNOWN jOHN SINCE ABOUT 1970 AND MY SONS AND HIS PLAYED TOGETHER. WE HAVE BEEN TO THEIR HOME AND HE TO OURS. BOB TAUGHT FOR MANY YEARS AND ONE OF THE SCHOOLS jOHN TAUGHT AT. WE HAVE NOT SEEN HIM FOR A WHILE BUT KNOW IN OUR HEARTS AND SOUL THAT HE IS NOT CAPABLE OF WHAT HE IS ACCUSED OF. HE IS A COMMITTED AND BRILLIANT TEACHER. GE GAS GIVIN SO MUCH TO THE STUDENTS OF THE CITY. I DO NOT KNOW HOW (WITHOUT A REASONABLLE DOUBT) HE CAN BE ACCUSED OF SUCH BEHAVIOR. hIS CAREER IS DISTROYED AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE LOOKED AT BY THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW THE REAL JOHN AS A SEXUAL PREDITOR.hE IS NOT!!!!! JOHN, OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO WITH YOU AS YOU GO THROUGH THIS TERRIBLE SITUATION. WE WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.
JUDY & BOB
May 20th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
It makes you wonder why a principal would risk his job by not reporting the incident. Perhaps, as a daily observer of both individuals, he felt there was no credence to the allegation. What if this wasn’t the first occasion in which the student had accused a teacher of inappropriate behavior? Would that make her story less believable? What if the student has a mental illness? I don’t think ‘we’ as a society should jump to conclusions upon seeing a miserable old man’s face in a mug shot. We’d all look guilty in such a situation. It would horrible to show any doubt to someone who’d been abused, but it is also a horrible act to condemn without ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ proof.
Jason
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