BENTONVILLE -- A lawyer found no reason to criticize the School District after reviewing administrators' handling of a former employee accused of sexually abusing three students, according to a report released Tuesday.
The report did, however, suggest several ways the district could enhance safety measures associated with its Adventure Club program.
At A Glance
Ali Matar Jr.
Ali Martin Matar Jr., 21, of Lowell is being held in the Benton County Jail on $250,000 bond. A jury trial for has case has been set for Jan. 27.
Source: Staff Report
Ali Matar Jr., 21, worked as an Adventure Club leader for the district from October to May. Matar pleaded not guilty in June to two counts of rape, a Class Y felony, and one count of sexual assault in the second degree, a Class B felony.
Adventure Club is run by the district's Childcare Enrichment Services department. It offers child care from 6 to 7:30 a.m. and from 2:30 to 6 p.m. during the school year for students in kindergarten through sixth grade at the district's elementary and middle schools.
Matar was arrested May 14 in connection with raping a 5-year-old student at R.E. Baker Elementary School. A subsequent investigation led to Matar being arrested again a few days later in connection with sexually abusing two 6-year-old girls at R.E. Baker Elementary.
After Matar's arrests, the district asked the law firm Mitchell Williams to review the existence and application of district policies and practices for possible breakdowns or gaps. Mitchell Williams routinely represents the district on legal matters.
Chris Plumlee, a Mitchell Williams attorney, took on that duty. Plumlee is a former deputy prosecuting attorney for the Benton County Prosecuting Attorney's Office and former chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas.
Adventure Club administrators followed proper screening and hiring practices when they hired Matar last fall; in addition, Matar received more than the required 25 hours of training staff members are required to complete each year, according to Plumlee's seven-page report.
The district initially learned of allegations against Matar on May 12, at which time the district placed him on leave.
"Our review suggests that, if the current allegations are proven true, Matar undertook efforts to conceal the alleged crimes from detection from coworkers, supervisors and others around him," Plumlee's report states.
The report suggests three possible enhancements to the Adventure Club program.
One is improved staff training related to child abuse detection. Child abuse detection and reporting training is offered to all district employees, but specially trained representatives from the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County "may be in a position to assist with developing a more enhanced and robust program than is otherwise required," the report states.
Another recommendation was to sponsor more community outreach events such as the one held a couple of weeks after Matar's arrest, in which the district hosted a public forum to increase awareness of child abuse and maltreatment issues.
The report's final recommendation involves seeking help from the Children's Advocacy Center in providing awareness to children regarding difficult issues such as child abuse.
During last school year, it was not uncommon for one Adventure Club employee to be the only assigned employee on site between 6 and 7:30 a.m. District officials chose to designate two-person teams to supervise the morning sessions starting this school year, the report states.
Superintendent Michael Poore distributed copies of the report to School Board members at their meeting Tuesday. He said he had just received the report hours earlier. Board members agreed to review the report on their own time and discuss it at their next meeting.
"It's important to remember this is still a criminal matter," Poore said. "So we're walking a fine line of how we work on this and engage on this particular topic, because it is still under investigation."
The district requested the report to make sure it was following all policies and procedures, Poore said.
"Many of the recommendations you'll read, we've already been proactive and aggressive in addressing them," he said.
NW News on 09/03/2014