Bellingham Public Schools Board Votes to Cover Legal Fees of Principals Accused of Failing to Report Sexual Assaults

The Bellingham Public Schools board has voted to cover the legal defense costs in the event that three public school assistant principals are charged for failing to report sexual assaults that a student brought to their attention nearly a year ago.

Failing to report the allegations is a gross misdemeanor and Meghan V. Dunham, Maude Chimere Hackney, and Jeremy G. Louza have been issued criminal citations and could potentially face charges. Yet none of them were placed on administrative leave and all continue to work in their positions with the district’s full support.

All three are mandatory reporters, which requires them by law to report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement or the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Following a walkout last Monday, students and parents showed up to last Wednesday’s board meeting to demand the assistant principals, whom each earn in excess of 6 figures from the district, be placed on administrative leave.

According to the Bellingham police, in January 2021 a 15-year-old girl reported to assistant principal Louzao that a 14-year-old boy at Squalicum High School sexually assaulted her in November and December of 2020.

Louzao has been linked to Rise Up, a Seattle-based anarchist collective and is listed as the author of anarchistic writings on several websites, and did not report the incident to authorities. Instead, the victim was told a safety agreement would be put in place, but the boy violated it only four days later, according to police.

After the girl reported the sexual assaults to the police, Hackney, who had previously spoken out against suspending students with disciplinary problems, arranged a meeting between the alleged victim and the accused male student to discuss the reported sexual assault incidents, but at no time did any of the assistant principals report the sexual assaults to law enforcement or the state department of children and family services.

Shortly thereafter, the 14-year-old boy was arrested and booked into juvenile detention.

Aside from the failure to report and forcing her to be in a room with her alleged assailant, according to a federal lawsuit filed by the victim, one administrator asked the victim what she wanted him to do about it, while another failed to acknowledge the report at all

Louzao, Hackney, and Dunham have been issued criminal citations for failure to report, a gross misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $5,000 fine.

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