Kentucky lawmakers failed to address teacher sex abuse last year. Will they in 2024?

It started with massages for leg cramps after soccer practice when she was 14.

Andrew Zaheri’s attentions to the teenage girl quickly escalated, according to court documents.

The former Rowan County soccer coach and teacher eventually made the girl his teaching assistant. He bought her clothes and presents. Soon, the two were spotted at Wal-Mart and other places after hours.

In May 2023, the student, identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit, and her parents sued Zaheri and Rowan County School District leaders alleging multiple school district employees knew of the relationship and failed to report it to authorities over several years.

A school counselor was eventually tipped off about the relationship between Jane Doe and Zaheri. The counselor reported it to authorities in February 2023, according to the lawsuit.

In May, Zaheri was indicted on 23 counts related to his sexual relationship with the student.

The family alleged in the lawsuit this was not the first time Zaheri’s relationship with a female student has been questioned.

Zaheri had previously served as an assistant basketball coach at Rowan County from 2007 to 2011. During that time period, he was in a relationship with a different female student, the lawsuit alleges.

“School officials turned a blind eye when Zaheri impregnated a female student shortly after her graduation, failing to acknowledge and report that the relationship began while the female was still in high school,” the lawsuit alleges.

The Lexington Herald-Leader does not identify victims of sexual abuse.

The civil and criminal cases are ongoing. In court documents, Rowan County officials have denied any wrongdoing and have asked the case be dismissed. A lawyer for the school district did not respond to a Herald-Leader request for comment. A lawyer for Zaheri said he declined to comment.

A September 2022 Herald-Leader investigation revealed in the 194 cases of Kentucky teachers who voluntarily surrendered or had their license revoked or suspended from 2016 to 2021, 61% lost their license due to sexual misconduct. The overwhelming majority of those cases involved male teachers and teenage girls.

New legislation pending before the Kentucky General Assembly would make it more difficult for teachers with multiple allegations of misconduct to move from school district to school district.

House Bill 275 filed Jan. 16 in the General Assembly would bolster disclosure requirements for teachers accused of sexual misconduct, up training requirements and require teachers and other personnel to pass criminal background checks every five years.

A similar bill, HB 288, was filed in the 2023 legislative session. Despite unanimous support in the House and in a Senate Committee, it was never brought to the Senate floor for a vote, due to concerns from teachers about unsubstantiated claims of misconduct being kept in teacher files.

Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, said HB 275 is improved legislation that will protect students across Kentucky.

“The legislation is about preventing those few bad actors in the teaching profession from having access to children in Kentucky schools,” said Tipton, chair of the House Education Committee.

“I believe the articles in the (Herald-Leader) gave awareness to this issue, but this problem had been on my mind for many years,” he said.

He said the legislation prevents schools from entering into non-disclosure agreements with employees who are under investigation. It requires that once an investigation has begun, it must be completed.

It also requires prospective employees to disclose any current allegations and disclose all former schools they have worked in. Schools are required to check with all former school districts who have employed the prospective teacher.

“There is a clear process established on what must take place once an accusation has been made,” Tipton said.

“One provision in the bill from last year that caused concerns was that results stayed in the teacher’s permanent employee file. That provision in HB 275 only allows that if an employee is found to be guilty of the accusation.”

Meanwhile, the number of Kentucky teachers, coaches and administrators who have been arrested or have lost their teaching licenses due to sexual misconduct has continued.

Mary Prater, a victim of sexual abuse by a teacher when she was in her teens, said it’s past time the Kentucky General Assembly acts to protect victims of child abuse.

Prater came forward decades after she was abused — starting when she was 13 by April Bradford, a Prestonsburg teacher and administrator who pleaded guilty in November 2023 to various sexual abuse charges involving Prater and another victim.

Bradford will be sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

“These are kids,” Prater said, adding the damage caused by childhood sexual abuse can’t be overstated.

“I’ve spent my life running from it.”

Sexual misconduct and teachers losing licenses

Since December 2022, the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, which oversees teacher licenses, has revoked or disciplined 39 teachers. Seven involved sexual misconduct, or roughly 18%.

One of those seven cases involved a teacher’s inappropriate conduct toward a colleague. A second involved minors but not the teacher’s students.

It can take several years for disciplinary cases to be resolved. Sometimes, teachers voluntarily surrender their licenses. The EPSB does not release records of teachers until the discipline case is completed.

Some of the teachers who lost their licenses over the past 12 months include:

• Jeffery Morning, a former Bullitt County schools assistant principal, was arrested after sending a picture of his genitals to a student who was 16 at the time, according to WLKY. Morning entered an Alford plea, which means he does not admit guilt but still pleaded guilty, to a felony charge involving use of computers and minors. In 2022, he received three years of a diverted sentence, meaning he remains free but can’t commit other felonies. He voluntarily surrendered his license in March. A lawyer for Morning did not return calls asking for comment.

• Craig Scott Harman, a former Todd County ROTC instructor, was charged with more than 40 counts relating to an inappropriate relationship with a student, according to WNKY. In addition, Harman was also charged with terroristic threatening for telling the victim “he would kill the victim” if she told anyone about having intercourse with him, according to media reports and court documents. Harman also allegedly threatened other students if they reported him, according to court records. Harman’s license was revoked in late December 2022. A trial on the charges is set for March 2024.

• Donald Graven, a former teacher in Kenton County Public Schools, had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student. On April 28, 2022, Graven pleaded guilty to sexual abuse third degree and attempted use of an electronic communications system to induce or procure a minor to commit a sexual act. Graven was sentenced in August to 12 months in prison. He will also have to register as a sex offender for 20 years. Graven’s license was permanently revoked in March. A lawyer for Graven declined to comment.

Sex on school campuses, a school with multiple investigations

Since December 2022, Zaheri was one of at least seven Kentucky teachers or administrators arrested for sexual misconduct involving students or minors.

One teacher also was arrested for failing to report abuse.

Some of the teachers, administrators or coaches who have been arrested on charges related to sexual misconduct over the past 12 months include:

• Benjamin Adams, a Logan County teacher, was arrested in January 2023 on multiple charges stemming from allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student. The case against Adams is still pending and a trial date has been set for August, according to an arrest citation. Adams has pleaded not guilty. Keith Wilcutt, a lawyer for Adams, said his client “is entitled to a presumption of innocence and maintains that presumption.” In December 2023, the case was sent to meditation.

• Michael Spears, a Boyd County art teacher, was arrested in September 2023 on charges he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female student. Spears told Boyd County Sheriff’s deputies he had sex with the teen twice on school grounds during the 2022-2023 school year, according to an arrest citation. Spears later pleaded not guilty. The charges against Spears are still pending. A lawyer for Spears did not return emails and phone calls asking for comment.

• Christopher Salyers, a Belfry High School teacher, was charged in October 2023 for failing to report sexual abuse. On or about Nov. 4, 2022, Salyers was informed by a female student, an underage minor, that she was involved in a relationship with a male teacher at the same school, a criminal citation said. Salyers failed to report the relationship, which subjected the minor to further abuse, court records indicated. Salyers has pleaded not guilty, according to court records. Failure to report is a misdemeanor charge. Salyers has been placed on leave.

To date, Salyers is the only teacher that has been charged related to two other investigations involving inappropriate communications between staff and students at Belfry High School, according to school employees.

At least two other staffers have either resigned or been placed on leave after inappropriate communications were turned over to Kentucky State Police, said Pike County Superintendent Reed Adkins during an October 2023 interview with the Herald-Leader.

In September, Adkins said Nathan Coleman, a teacher who is also listed on a school roster as an assistant football coach, resigned, one day after district officials turned allegations over to Kentucky State Police.

Kentucky State Police Trooper Michael Coleman said the investigation was continuing as of Jan. 9.

Legislation moving forward

Jon Hollan, a lawyer for Jane Doe, the teen victim in the lawsuit against Rowan County school administrators, said more should be done to protect students.

“We applaud Rep. Tipton’s efforts to protect our students and children throughout Kentucky and make our school systems safer and a protective place for children,” Hollan said.

“No child should endure sexual harassment or assault from a teacher. We must have a system in place that keeps teachers with troubled backgrounds from switching from one district to another.”

David Patterson, a spokesman for the Kentucky Education Association, which represents educators and teachers, declined comment.

A Kentucky Department of Education spokeswoman said the department worked with Tipton last year on the bill and would work with him again in 2024.

“KDE welcomes the opportunity to work with Rep. Tipton again during the 2024 legislative session to provide recommendations and feedback on legislation he may propose to enhance protections for Kentucky’s students,” Toni Konz Tatman said.

During its 2022 investigation, the Herald-Leader found Kentucky Education Professional Standards Boards investigations can take months to complete. A bill approved Tuesday by the House Education Committee aimed at speeding up the process would have the unintended consequences of dismissing more than 30 cases of inappropriate behavior between teachers and students, including sexual contact.

Cassie Trueblood, an attorney for the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, told lawmakers on the House Education Committee that if deadlines proposed in House Bill 300 were applied retroactively, 129 current pending cases of allegations against teachers would be dismissed due to failure to meet timelines.Thirty-one of those cases involve allegations of inappropriate relationships and possible sexual contact.

Tipton said lawmakers would work through the issues with the EPSB before the bill goes to the full House of Representatives.