A parents association is calling for stronger guardrails in programs involving children following an extended day worker’s arrest for allegedly showing porn to kids.
The Arlington County Council of PTAs (CCPTA) said Arlington Public Schools should double down on systems of accountability after the 18-year-old suspect, who worked in an after-school program at Abingdon Elementary School in Fairlington, was arrested on charges of assault and battery and possession of child pornography.
“We don’t know the specifics of this incident, but we do know that some institutional procedures are better than others at preventing incidents like these,” the organization said. “We need increased attention to preventing ‘institutional abuse’ in our schools, camps, sports leagues, religious institutions, and any programs involving supervision of children.”
The suspect’s case is being handled in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, which handles cases involving crimes against children, court records show.
The suspect is accused of victimizing three children and police are seeking possible additional victims.
APS told ARLnow that it already conducts background checks on all full and part-time employees through the Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Social Services.
“There are no plans to change how background checks are completed,” school system spokesperson Frank Bellavia said. “The safety of our students is at the forefront of everything we do, and we will continue to carefully screen and monitor our employees.”
CCPTA commended current APS efforts to raise awareness about adverse childhood experiences and create a permanent Title IX coordinator position.
However, it said, “more work needs to be done to prevent harm of children and to mitigate past harm, including for those incidents that were never reported or were improperly handled, which research indicates are potentially numerous.”
CCPTA’s complete statement is below.
The executive board of the CCPTA is concerned to learn of this disturbing incident, and we deeply appreciate those persons — the victims, their families, and the School and County professionals — who worked to bring these incidents to light and conduct an investigation. We don’t know the specifics of this incident, but we do know that some institutional procedures are better than others at preventing incidents like these. We need increased attention to preventing “institutional abuse” in our schools, camps, sports leagues, religious institutions, and any programs involving supervision of children. We are glad that APS has started this work by making permanent a Title IX coordinator to improve internal complaint handling practices, and we are glad that the County has begun work to launch an Adverse Childhood Experiences campaign to raise awareness of best practices for preventing harms like sexual abuse from happening within institutions. More work needs to be done to prevent harm of children and to mitigate past harm, including for those incidents that were never reported or were improperly handled, which research indicates are potentially numerous.
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