Stephen Thomas Rooney, 39, an assistant principal at Markham Middle School in Los Angles, California arrested last week on allegations of sexually abusing a 13-year-old female student has pleaded not guilty.
Rooney was charged March 6 with three counts of a forcible lewd act upon a child and two counts of committing a lewd act upon a child. The alleged crimes are said to have occurred between January 1 and March 1 of this year. Two of the charges involve an incident that allegedly took place on the school campus in his office in front of another student.
Rooney’s attorney tried unsuccessfully to get his client’s $1 million bail reduced.
Rooney’s case has angered some Markham parents after they learned that Rooney had been previously investigated for allegedly having sex with an underage student at Fremont High School and pulling a gun on her stepfather. Although no criminal charges were filed in that case he was removed from that school and subsequently assigned to Markham Middle School.
04/28/08 - Additional Charges
Stephen Rooney has now been charged with molesting a second Markham Middle School, a 14-year-old female.
Prosecutors also say they have enough evidence to charge Rooney with the molestation of a 15-year-old girl who was a student at Foshay Learning Center.
05/01/08 - Rooney Ordered To Stand Trial
Yesterday Stephen Rooney was ordered to trial on three counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child, six counts of lewd acts upon a child and four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse in connection with three girls.
One of the girls, who is now 18, testified that she met Rooney around 2005, while she was a student at Foshay Learning Academy. The girl said that she was 15 and first had sex with him in October 2005 during a relationship that lasted about 1½ years and that she became pregnant with Rooney’s baby. The girl testified that she had a miscarriage and subsequently continued the sexual relationship with Rooney.
09/19/08 - Another Victim, Another Set of Charges
Steve Rooney, already facing charges of molesting three students, was arrested again Thursday on charges of molesting a fourth, according to authorities.
In the latest case, Rooney faces five felony charges that he molested a 14-year-old student at the Foshay Learning Center between June 2004 and June 2006.
The new charges will be handled as an entirely different case they Rooney's previous charges and will works its way through the courts after the first case.
Rooney currently free on bond is reportedly expected to be released on $100,000 bond in the newer case.
References:
New molestation charges filed against former assistant principal (09/19/08)
Asst. School Principal Ordered To Stand Trial In Sex-Related Case (05/01/08)
LAUSD administrator faces more sex abuse charges (04/28/08)
Assistant School Principal Pleads Not Guilty to Lewd Acts (3/19/08)
LAUSD Head Deeply Sorry For Administrator Scandal (3/14/08)
L.A. Unified educator in sex case faced earlier inquiry (3/13/08)
Not first accusation for asst. principal (3/13/08)
Assistant Principal Charged With Lewd Acts Involving 13-Year-Old (3/06/08)
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November 10th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Thirteen, 14 and some 15 year olds are to young to consent because of their lack of maturity. Just because young girls these days are built, doesn’t mean their maturity level has kept up with their body development.
But let’s not jump the gun. He’s innocent unless he confesses or is found guilty by a court of law. This could be a bunch of bitchy little girls making false claims. It’s happened in the past and will in the future.
November 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Denise, did you read the article? FYI the kids were in MIDDLE SCHOOL, not high school. I hope you dont have kids of your own because it would be straight nasty for you to be ok with a grown man having a sexual relationship with your young immature 13, 14 or 15 year old daughter.
October 6th, 2008 at 6:38 am
I know Rooney, he was an amazing mentor to me for about five yrs, and even after i graduated from highschool in 05, he was there to be a friend.. he’s a good man whose made mistakes. I can assure you that he was never disrespectful in any way. I had him for P.E., homeroom, helped him with the basketball team at home and away games. If he wanted to, he could have tried to lure me or the other girls who helped the team, but he never looked at me with any malice. I don’t know about the allegations from the 13, 14 yr olds, but i do know about the now 18 yr old girl from Foshay.. I can assure you all that the parents, grandmother, aunt (who’s my friend from school) were more than aware and had given their consent. So really, if people are going to point fingers, they should start with the parents who didn’t teach their “girls” or “kids” any morals. He is being accused of lewd acts, not rape.. if anything, it was consensual.. he didn’t take advantage of them.. get that clear. He’s in trouble because these “victims” weren’t 3 or 4 yrs older, otherwise, it would be perfectly fine. I understand why so many people, esp. parents, are alarmed and judging, but lets be realistic, whether parents want to hear it or not, adolescents are having sex and it is the parents responsibility to teach them the values the want them to follow. I wouldn’t be surprised that when it is all over for him, these girls sue LAUSD. I hope people don’t reply to my message saying that im crazy for defending him.. not only did i know him for a long time as his student, but i’m a 4th yr psychology student, so i see things from a different perspective. before this happened he had gone through a divorce in 05, i heard from a mutual friend that he had mentioned he had suicidal thoughts, it is possible that he was on psychotropic medications.. he was known as a well educated and dedicated person, he served our country (USMC), he grew up running around the world trade center (his family knew the architect or owner, something of that sort) so 9/11 hit him right at home and he served in the war around 2003 or 2004.. there is so much more to him, his life spiralled out of control in a matter of 2 or 3 yrs and there is a reason that we cannot understand. i cannot assure to what extent it is all true, but there is so much more that hasn’t been said. I truly hope the real truth comes out, i feel for him.
August 25th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Nice, just searching my name to see what comes up. I have a 13 year old daughter, and if a handsom ADULT did anything to her, I would take care of business. It’s the law for a reason, those “girls” are kids. Good luck in the Pen cause it ’s your turn Rooney.
Steve Rooney
August 17th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Denise, I am sorry that you feel this way. An adult in a power position should not be taking advantage of any under-aged student. Male or female, handsome, pretty or butt ugly, it should not matter. Our society dictates that we protect the most vunerable in our society, not take advantage of them. I worked with Steve Rooney, that’s why I use the name hotdog. I never knew he was doing anything improper, he was handsome, well dressed and smart. What he is accused of doing is wrong and he should not be given a free ride because he is handsome. If he is found guilty then he should be punished. Not because of how he looks, but because what he was tried for is a crime in our society
May 5th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
You are all throwing the term “molest” around a lot. But I wonder if it was consensual or not. Our teenagers today are not so innocent either and if they enticing the guy to flirt they may be enticing him to go further. This behavior was common in the old days and is common in other cultures. As long as he did not physically abuse them then what is the harm?
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Are you kidding me Denise? Get some life experience. I am embarrassed for you that you would actually say something so inconsiderate about the tragedy these girls went through. Yes, he is handsome. But that does not make it ok for him to molest them. Unbelievable.
April 29th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
(Deleted by site admin)
how can you say that about a 13 year old girl and a grown man?
.
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April 29th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Let’s be honest here. The guy is really handsome. How traumatic could it have been for these girls. I wish someone who looked like that “molested” me when I was in high school.