The Straight Dope on DC Private School Scandals

[Anonymous]

What's the latest on this scandal?

http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/local-news/update-on-the-teacher-fired-by-gonzaga-under-mysterious-circumstances.php

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Toth affair is overblown

Really? from OP:child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list).

The reason this issue remains important is that the school itself was at the center of the incident. Not something that happened off campus or by someone who once attended the school. A child predator was allowed to live on the Catherdral grounds.

[Anonymous]

OP, are you trying to throw a damper on the head's farewell party next month? Shame on you.

I agree with you, though, quite a summer. Creepy, pedophile teacher Toth being escorted off the Close by the friendly, homicidal-suicidal Cathedral police officer who two months later shoots and kills his ex-girlfriend, a beloved Beauvoir first grade teacher, right before she was to return to school for new-year organization week. Reads like a Lifetime movie storyline.

[Anonymous]

The Toth case will be back in the media spotlight with his arrest today:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/FBI-Arrests-Teacher-Accused-of-Child-Pornography-204143481.html

[Anonymous]

Now the Washington Post is alleging that Cathedral school parents knew about Toth's creepy behavior and did nothing:

Some Beauvoir parents have said the teacher sometimes spent nights in his classroom closet and lavished attention on certain 8- and 9-year-old boys, holding them on his lap.

The parents said it was common knowledge that Toth was entwined in the lives of Beauvoir students — particularly male students — and sometimes in unusual ways. He babysat and tutored them, at times for free. He slept at their houses as a babysitter when parents were away and was a guest at one boy’s home for weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP HERE

AND Let’s be honest, none of the “scandals” discussed here or even everything else combined compares to the Toth case. Yet it seems that since the Toth case came to light moms on the DCUM forums have been working overtime to elevate any other private school scandal to a high level. I think it’s pathetic, but I know it won’t stop.

I've got a scandal for you, and it shows that the schools on the Close have not learned much in the last 30 years. I was raped by xxxxx, a teacher at STA, who I knew from the coed Literary Club. I was at NCS. I could not believe he let me go alive. We finally had a settlement with STA where I got a pittance in return for them giving him bad recs. We got the next girl three times the money I got (different teacher).

I did not understand that crossing one line was not the same as another. He crossed all of them. He admitted to the psychiatrist that he had fondled me and french kissed me and I sat in xxxx office with xxxx and they told me that given what he had done, the most Christian thing I could do was let him continue to teach at the school so they could keep an eye on him. My brother's locker was right next to his, and until we changed it, my brother was in his class. He was an extremely popular teacher and when I finally admitted to being raped everyone hated me and did not believe me. And they had to let him go...

20 years later when I was married and a litigator we found a male victim, xxxxx was hired to be the head of a charter boarding school for troubled kids (I only found out about this cause the founder graduated from my IVY and it was being written up) and with me AND the male vic we still had to struggle to get the STA board of trustees to do the right thing. 1999, After the Catholic church scandals, after we knew that pedophiles did not reform. So there you go. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

When my son was three it turned out his wife was married to a registered sex offender who had been convicted and had his son in the school. The new Principal and the head of the church had inherited the problem. The victim, who was barely mentioned in all the blabber, was a student at Janney where the perp was a substitute teacher, and a parishioner at our church. Having become a lawyer, I read the bastard's appeal. He appealed one count of indecent exposure because it required intent, and the father had interrupted them so he had no intent to expose himself to the father.

We also had a registered sex offender at our church, who offered to withdraw if our priest would not reveal his name. She refused. The whole parish meeting was about "where is poor Mr. xxxxx going to get communion." He lives at xxxxx, the old folks home across the street from xxxxx. This is the first time I liked our new priest. She said "Well, it turns out Mr. xxxxx is Catholic, and he goes to Mass with his wife every Saturday and comes to our church (trolling) every Sunday." That was the end of who are we going to bar from our church next, embezzlers?"

This happens everywhere, to everyone, and they still cover it up. The only good defense is a good offense. Talk to your kids. Buy some books. Read protecting the gift and the gift of fear. And yes if my husband sees this he will be very unhappy so just take it for what it is, my two cents.

I am the only surviving Episcopalian in my family.

God bless everyone.

[ Edited by Admin to remove names. ]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP HERE

AND Let’s be honest, none of the “scandals” discussed here or even everything else combined compares to the Toth case. Yet it seems that since the Toth case came to light moms on the DCUM forums have been working overtime to elevate any other private school scandal to a high level. I think it’s pathetic, but I know it won’t stop.

I've got a scandal for you, and it shows that the schools on the Close have not learned much in the last 30 years.

This is awful. I am so sorry you had to go through this. Lots of hugs to you. I wish there was something I could do to make it better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP HERE

AND Let’s be honest, none of the “scandals” discussed here or even everything else combined compares to the Toth case. Yet it seems that since the Toth case came to light moms on the DCUM forums have been working overtime to elevate any other private school scandal to a high level. I think it’s pathetic, but I know it won’t stop.

I've got a scandal for you, and it shows that the schools on the Close have not learned much in the last 30 years.

This is either libelous or horrific. Can anyone confirm?

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP HERE

AND Let’s be honest, none of the “scandals” discussed here or even everything else combined compares to the Toth case. Yet it seems that since the Toth case came to light moms on the DCUM forums have been working overtime to elevate any other private school scandal to a high level. I think it’s pathetic, but I know it won’t stop.

I've got a scandal for you, and it shows that the schools on the Close have not learned much in the last 30 years.

This is either libelous or horrific. Can anyone confirm?

I agree. I've edited the last three messages to remove names.

[Anonymous]

I was at NCS in the late 1970s and I don't remember any coed literary clubs. And while I wasn't at STA, the idea of a teacher having a locker right next to a student's seems unlikely as well as the fact that a teacher was fired under such a scandal and we didn't hear a peep about it. Its all possible, of course, and if this did happen I apologize for questioning it. But its not ringing true to me.

[Anonymous]

15:51 again. What was the name of the literary club? And I'm confused -- you say he was fired but then that it took 20 years for the trustees to do anything. Just trying to understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at NCS in the late 1970s and I don't remember any coed literary clubs. And while I wasn't at STA, the idea of a teacher having a locker right next to a student's seems unlikely as well as the fact that a teacher was fired under such a scandal and we didn't hear a peep about it. Its all possible, of course, and if this did happen I apologize for questioning it. But its not ringing true to me.

This doesn't ring true to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toth affair is overblown

Really? from OP:child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list).

The reason this issue remains important is that the school itself was at the center of the incident. Not something that happened off campus or by someone who once attended the school. A child predator was allowed to live on the Catherdral grounds.

For those who've wondered what else schools can/should do to avoid child predator problems, this is interesting:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303393804579311142041815148?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303393804579311142041815148.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toth affair is overblown

Really? from OP:child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list).

The reason this issue remains important is that the school itself was at the center of the incident. Not something that happened off campus or by someone who once attended the school. A child predator was allowed to live on the Catherdral grounds.

For those who've wondered what else schools can/should do to avoid child predator problems, this is interesting:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303393804579311142041815148?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303393804579311142041815148.html

The article is locked -- what are the main provisions of the proposed Congressional bill?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The DC moms on this board pounce on any whiff of scandal and the threads soon evolve into back and forth between the school bashers and defenders. The school bashers are always “outraged” or “curious” or “surprised” or “disappointed” if not “shocked” that [insert topic de jour] occurred. The school defenders are always quick to minimize the scandal and deflect the topic and attack any accuser. If all else fails you can always take a shot at your favorite DC suburban private boys school: Landon &Prep; which ALL DC moms despise.

As a longtime observer of this board and NW DC hierarchy, however, there is another way of looking at this. Of all the scandals that have been discussed on these boards one stands out as perhaps the greatest failure of institutional control in the history of U.S. education: the Eric Toth incident. Exaggeration you say? What else compares to this: child predator who is now on the FBI’s 10 most wanted list LIVING on the Cathedral campus for years; hacking into school computers and students files; taking explicit photos of children who attended Cathedral’s Beauvoir elementary school; “babysitting” students and having students “sit on his lap;” and the school botching his dismissal so that he was able to escape authorities. Toth is the Osama Bin Laden of child predators (and coincidently took Bin Laden’s place on the 10 most wanted list.

Toth was the worst, but many other schools have had child predator issues, which are indeed the worst.