Del. school employee charged with rape faced other sexual misconduct claims: court records

A Brandywine School District employee who was arrested last week on charges that he repeatedly raped a child who was not his student had previously been accused of sexual misconduct by at least one other juvenile and an adult, court records show.

John Arnold was not charged criminally for those incidents, which court documents say occurred in Maryland and Florida. The 47-year-old was sued in civil court in 2021, however, by a Florida accuser.

That case ended in a settlement in December 2022, records show.

Arnold is being held in a Delaware prison on several counts of rape in connection with a New Castle County Police investigation that began earlier this month. He’s accused of assaulting a 5-year-old girl, with claims dating back to at least November 2022, according to court documents.

INITIAL STORY: Delaware school therapist charged with rape; no evidence of student victims: police

Police said there is no current indication that Arnold, who most recently worked as an emotional support therapist at Lombardy Elementary School, victimized students.

Why was the Delaware investigation launched?

The New Castle County Police investigation began in early July after the 5-year-old told staff at her camp about “inappropriate sexual contact” with Arnold. The Delaware Division of Family Services had been notified first, as is required under Delaware law.

As police began investigating, they learned that the girl had previously made “concerning statements” in the fall of 2022 to a family member “regarding possible sexual contact between her and John,” an arrest warrant says.

Based on the girl’s comments, the family member made a doctor’s appointment with the girl’s pediatrician, where she was referred to a therapist. She acted out during the therapy appointment, medical notes obtained by police said.

“As a result of this visit, it was determined that (the girl’s) statements and behavior were the result of a behavioral issue and natural development so a police report was not made at this time,” the warrant said.

At the time, the psychologist also spoke to Arnold, who denied abusing the girl.

Arnold has a Ph.D. in psychology with "expertise in trauma/PTSD treatment,” a since-deleted biography said.

He touted these qualifications when police interviewed him this month, noting that he has testified in court “on behalf of the state regarding his background in treating trauma patients” and “due to this, he was familiar with police investigation processes.”

As the New Castle County Police investigation continued, the family member told police they were “frustrated that the (November 2022) appointment did not result in further disclosure,” adding that their “concerns were heightened” because Arnold had previously been accused of having “inappropriate sexual contact” with a child. Those previous accusations didn’t result in charges.

Additionally, the family member said, the child continued to make statements about sexual contact with Arnold.

When a police detective asked why the family member didn’t report the additional statements, they said they had been “discouraged” by what came of their November 2022 report and felt they “needed to collect further evidence” before making another claim.

A forensic interviewer who spoke with the child this month said the girl claimed that Arnold had raped her on multiple occasions.

He was arrested Thursday and is being held in prison on $1 million bond.

Additional sexual misconduct and assault allegations

Arnold’s recent charges mark the first time he has been arrested for sex-related incidents, but it’s not the first time he’s been accused of sexual misconduct or assault.

In 2019 or 2020, a teen reported to police that beginning about a decade prior, Arnold had raped her on numerous occasions, according to court documents. She said she was about 5 years old when the assaults began and they continued until she was 11 or 12, or until the mid-2010s.

She described assaults similar to what the 5-year-old girl recalled to the forensic investigator, court documents detail.

In a recent interview with New Castle County Police, the teen said she spoke with a detective about the incidents but “was never informed of any charges or resolution.” Court records show the incidents occurred in Maryland and Florida, though due to redactions made to the public documents, it’s unclear which state the teen reported them in.

Court records from Florida show that in 2021, however, a couple sued Arnold and his former employers for “sexual misconduct” and professional misconduct that occurred in 2019 while he worked as a therapist.

According to the lawsuit, in October 2019, Arnold – whose provisional Florida psychologist license was expired – told a patient he was a sex therapist and asked if she would be comfortable with sex therapy. He asked the patient if she was comfortable with kissing, touching and penetration.

(Sex therapists do not perform sex or have physical contact with their clients during sex therapy sessions.)

After recording her answers, court documents say Arnold began to kiss and grope the patient, then had sex with her. This occurred at another appointment a month later, the lawsuit says, then again in December 2019.

In that instance, the suit says Arnold “forced himself” on the patient and assaulted her. In January 2020, Arnold wrote in medical records that the woman was no longer his patient.

The suit adds that not only was Arnold not a licensed sex therapist when the sessions occurred, but a provisional psychology license that he obtained from the state of Florida in 2015 had expired two years earlier, in 2017. He and his practice still purported him to be licensed, however, the suit says.

Details of the settlement are sealed. A LinkedIn page that has since had the profile photo taken down describes Arnold as a "sexual therapist."

Additional court records show at least one other former patient said she and Arnold became romantically involved while she was his client.

Could Brandywine have known about these accusations or other charges?

Though state law requires school districts to conduct criminal background checks and Delaware child protection registry checks before hiring potential employees, there’s likely no way the district could have known about the sexual abuse accusations made four or five years ago, given they did not result in criminal charges.

The civil suit, which is public record, was filed in May 2021, though it wouldn’t have appeared in a criminal check. It’s unclear exactly when Arnold was hired, as Brandywine School District did not respond to Delaware Online/The News Journal inquiries.

Public salary data shows Arnold was employed by the district for at least part of 2021. He made about $20,000 that year, records show, compared to more than $100,000 last year.

The district should have known, however, about a litany of other charges that Arnold has faced over the years, which include both felonies and misdemeanors. Court records show multiple charges in Maryland and several in West Virginia.

The Maryland felony charges include burglary and theft stemming from a 2011 investigation that Arnold stole thousands from his employer, Mountainview Healthcare, according to WCBC Radio archives.

He was working as the office manager when the business noticed $15,000 missing, the article said. Court records show some of the charges were later dropped, though the case disposition for the theft charge was listed as “stet.”

In Maryland, “stet” is a resolution to a case in which the prosecutor asks the court to mark a case as inactive – or place it on the “stet docket” – for several years while certain conditions are imposed. Those can include serving community service, paying restitution or other conditions.

More detailed court documents for the case were not immediately available to shed light on Arnold’s requirements.

Additional Maryland charges, including making a false statement to officers and perjury – all misdemeanors – date back to 2003. He was found guilty of one count of making a false statement.

Arnold was also charged in West Virginia in 2008 with two counts of felony forgery of a public record, though it’s not immediately clear what became of the charges or what they stemmed from. Court documents were not readily available.

While Brandywine School District did not respond to Delaware Online/The News Journal’s inquiry into how the district handles criminal records for prospective employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that employers should not automatically disqualify or exclude applicants who have a history of arrests or convictions.

In fact, to justify a disqualification, an employer should consider the nature or seriousness of the offense if it relates to the job being sought, the length of time a person was charged and other individualized factors, the document says.

Brandywine School District said last week that Arnold "will not be performing any duties and will not be present in any capacity nor have any access to students while the investigation is ongoing."

Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on X at @izzihughes_

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware school employee charged with rape accused previously: Docs