Sheriff: Elementary school dean did not report continuous sex abuse of girls

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Horizons Elementary School Dean of Students Courtney Stanley, 34, was arrested Tuesday on allegations he knew a bus driver was sexually abusing young girls, but did nothing about it.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced Stanley’s arrest Tuesday, in connection with the prior arrest of bus driver Carlos Ojeda, 72, on multiple counts of sexual battery.

Ojeda is accused of sexually abusing female special-needs students on multiple occasions.

The man told detectives he sexually battered the two students eight times, an arrest report said.

Two male students told Stanley that Ojeda was inappropriately touching female special-needs students on the bus on April 8 and 12, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

The school administrator did not report it to law enforcement or the Florida Department of Children and Families, he said. Investigators said Stanley did not believe the students.

"The dean of students said, 'You know, this 10-year-old boy says crazy things all the time.' So he just dismissed it," Judd said.

When the same two students told a school counselor about the abuse on April 13, law enforcement and DCF were immediately contacted, investigators said.

"When I learned about it I was very, very angry. Very angry, and I'm still angry," Superintendent of Polk County Schools Jacqueline Byrd said.

If Stanley had reported the alleged abuse when he was first told about it, at least one of the girls would not have been victimized further, Judd said.

Byrd said workers are trained on how to handle abuse, which includes alerting administrators so they can tell the DCF.

"(Stanley) did admit that he received the training at the beginning of the year," Byrd said.

Detectives said they have identified four potential victims, all of whom have special needs. They said some have limited communication skills, which makes getting good statements difficult.

Detectives said they don't believe the bus monitor knew anything about the abuse because the monitor was overseeing children in the back of the bus.

Stanley seemed remorseful for not saying something sooner when he was arrested Monday night, but by then, it was too late, he added.

“One of those 4-year-old babies, one of these children, was abused three more times because (Stanley) didn’t report when he was originally told this,” Judd said.

Stanley was charged with two counts of failure to report child abuse. He bonded out of jail on Tuesday.

Ojeda was arrested on April 14 and charged with eight counts of capital sexual battery.

Both Stanley and Ojeda are suspended without pay and have been recommended for termination.

Cox Media Group