Report: Mark Morris officials may have withheld details from resource officer

Longview School District officials may have withheld crucial details from Mark Morris High School's school resource officer when discussing the district's investigation into recent sexual assault allegations.

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Recently obtained public records show the district's initial investigation into accusations that several Mark Morris students had sexually assaulted their peers revealed details that could "potentially amount to criminal sexual and physical assaults," according to the Longview police.

However, officials involved in the investigation told police that they did not pass on those details to school resource officer Hieu Ngo when they asked his advice on whether to make a formal police report.

The district never filed a police report during its internal investigation, even though school employees are mandatory reporters who must report such suspicions to authorities under state law.

Internal investigation

Opening Pandora's box?

Mark Morris officials began an internal investigation after a parent told boys basketball coach Ken Kelly on Jan. 28 that a student had rubbed his genitals on the mouth of another student's water bottle. The report was made late in the evening, and Kelly shared it with Assistant Principal Paul Beckel the next morning, according to the newly obtained records.

Later that day, a pair of students approached Kelly and said they had heard about another student being sexually assaulted, which he also immediately reported to Beckel, Kelly told police, according to the report.

Kelly and Beckel then went to speak to the victim, who told them he had been dragged into the varsity boys basketball team room, where another student pulled his pants off and attempted to pull off his underwear. Previous reports described the team room as a small windowless space inside the locker room.

Kelly told officers that he didn't remember the exact details the victim shared in that interview, but he remembered looking at Beckel afterward and saying, "F-k! We've opened up Pandora's box," the report states.

Police obtain vice principal's notes

During the ensuing investigation, Beckel interviewed multiple victims who described being sexually assaulted in the team room by the same group of students, according to Beckel's notes in the police report. The group included two teens who were arrested Feb. 19 and charged with second-degree rape.

The police report states that Beckel's notes from the investigation included quotes from victims describing specific sexual behavior that could be considered assault.

Victims told Beckel two suspects used Biofreeze - a menthol-based joint and muscle pain reliever - during the assaults, according to his notes in the public records.

Beckel told officers he did not share those notes with Ngo and reportedly became defensive when police questioned him about the information he collected about the Biofreeze incident.

However, Ngo's Feb. 27 report, previously obtained by The Daily News, says Beckel and Kelly talked to one victim about suspected hazing, but that victim didn't describe the full extent of the abuse. Ngo's report says he spoke directly with that victim. His report says the student was likely too embarrassed to explain the details.

Principal reviews case with Beckel

Principal Aaron Whitright said he wasn't always present during interviews with victims, but he discussed the interviews afterward with Beckel and had access to Beckel's notes from the beginning, the report states.

Whitright said he and Andrew Schoonover, the district's executive director of student services, also spoke with Ngo about the investigation but only shared vague details, according to the report. Whitright said they mentioned "dancing around" and students putting their butts on each other's faces, and Ngo told them that was not a crime unless the parents wanted to press charges.

Whitright told police he was not sure why they didn't share the information, but said he was not instructed to withhold it.

In a separate police interview, Schoonover said Ngo offered to make a report if they wished.

The report states that the conversation with Ngo likely occurred on Feb. 5. The police department first received official notification of the case from a parent on Feb. 9.

The Daily News also obtained a copy of Beckel's notes through a public records request from the Longview School District, but all descriptions of specific incidents were redacted. A note from the district states that this was to avoid releasing identifying information about the students involved, citing state and federal privacy laws.

Community backlash

Longview resident Jess Waldo started a change.org petition April 15, urging the Longview School Board to terminate any staff members who "neglected their responsibilities and failed to act according to the law." If it does not, community members plan to initiate a recall election against all five current board members, the petition states.

The petition had 632 signatures as of Monday morning.

Along with the school board members, the petition names Whitright and Superintendent Karen Cloninger.

The board voted April 13 to extend Cloninger's contract, which was set to end in 2028, through 2029. The contract was part of the consent agenda, which was approved unanimously.

Longview police also found Cloninger may have deleted messages about the case on her personal cellphone and work laptop, according to the recently obtained public records. However, Cloninger said that is not possible because the district has an automatic backup system to keep messages sent through district-issued accounts for 10 years as mandated in its retention policy. She did not specify if this includes chat messages on her personal phone.

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