Two CA High School Vice Principals Arrested for Not Reporting Alleged Sexual Assaults on School Campus

Two Rialto, California assistant high school principals have been arrested for allegedly failing to notify local authorities of two separate sexual assaults on a high school campus.

NBC Los Angeles reports David Yang, 38, and Natasha Harris, 37, were taken into custody Wednesday at Wilmer Amina Carter High School. Both Yang and Harris were charged by the San Bernardino County District Attorney with a felony count of child abuse and two misdemeanor counts of failure to report child abuse or neglect.

The mother of one alleged victim told the outlet a 17-year-old male student from the high school sexually assaulted her then-15-year-old daughter. The girl reported the attack to an assistant principal, but nothing was done. 

Instead, the girl's father said the school official told her: "Maybe it was the way you were dressed or you might be seeking attention."

"For that reason, she kept quiet because she was afraid she was going to get expelled from school," the girl's mother told NBCLA. 

The girl's parents said they didn't find out about the assault until last week when their daughter told school officials the alleged suspect had been bullying her. One of the vice principals called the mother, telling her she had "no need to worry." 

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

The parents then spoke with their daughter about the incident, and she told them she had reported the alleged assault to school officials last November. 

"They failed to notify us. They failed to notify police," her father told NBCLA. 

"I'm the one that called police because they failed to do so," the girl's mother said. 

Rialto police said after speaking to the girl's mother, two other girls, ages 15 and 16, came forward claiming they were also sexually assaulted by the same student. Police said one of the girls said she reported the incident to school officials last September, but the officials failed to report it to police. The other girl did not report her assault, police said. 

Rialto School Board President Edgar Montes announced at a board meeting, "The district will fully cooperate with law enforcement's investigation, and in addition, will conduct an internal review consistent with its legal obligations and take appropriate action as necessary." 

Both Yang and Harris were booked into a detention center with bail set at $150,000.

"As mandated reporters, both Harris and Yang are required by California State Law to immediately alert law enforcement of child abuse or neglect," according to a Rialto police press release. 

"In this case, the Assistant Principals' failure to report sexual assault on their campus erodes the trust that students and parents alike should have regarding the safety and protection of all the children in their care," said District Attorney Jason Anderson. "Their failure as mandated reporters to notify law enforcement led to further victimization of two students, and the sexual assault of a third victim which was preventable."

CBN News has reached out to Wilmer Amina Carter High School for comment.  We'll post their response here when we hear back. 

Case of Unreported Sexual Assault Made National Headlines Last Spring

The story of an unreported sexual assault on a high school campus in Virginia made national headlines last spring when the suspect transferred to another high school and committed another sexual assault. 

As CBN News reported, parents were angered after finding out the boy was involved in multiple assaults, reportedly entering a girls' restroom as a transgender. After the first assault occurred in a school bathroom at Stone Bridge High School in May 2021, the boy was allowed to shift over to nearby Broad Run High School while he awaited trial in juvenile court. The second assault then occurred in a Broad Run classroom in October 2021, long after school authorities knew about his previous crime.

Before the attack at Stone Bridge, the teenager who was 14 at the time, entered the girls' bathroom wearing a skirt, according to news reports. The case became embroiled in a debate over extending access to transgender students in schools.

Despite making claims to the contrary, Loudoun County Superintendent Scott Ziegler was previously informed about reports of a sexual assault on May 28 in a high school bathroom. He even sent out an email that day informing the school board of the "incident" at Stone Bridge High School. His message stated, "This afternoon, a female student alleged that a male student sexually assaulted her in the restroom," according to a report from WTOP-TV, a local news station.

Then Ziegler told the public at a June 22 school board meeting there was no record of any sexual assaults in the bathroom. But his May 28th email reveals he and the board would have been aware of the incident during the summer meeting when parents raised serious concerns about allowing students to use whichever restrooms correlate with their perceived gender identities.

Several parents said such a policy would endanger children's safety. In response, school board member Beth Barts, who has since resigned, asked Ziegler if there were any sexual assaults occurring regularly in school bathrooms.

"The predator transgender student or person simply does not exist," the superintendent said at the time. "We don't have any record of assault occurring in our restrooms."

Ziegler later apologized for his "misleading" claim, telling reporters he thought the question was in reference to assaults only by kids with transgender identities. However, reports indicate the boy involved in the May 28 assault wore a skirt to gain access to the girls' bathroom.

A Loudon County teenager was found guilty in the separate attacks. He will remain on supervised probation in a locked juvenile treatment facility until his 18th birthday.

Just hours after being sworn into office, the Commonwealth's new Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on Jan. 15 that his office was opening an investigation into the Loudoun school board. 

"Loudoun County Public Schools covered up a sexual assault on school grounds for political gain, leading to an additional assault of a young girl," he said in a statement. "Virginians will receive the answers they have desperately asked for."