Bethel School Official Updates Parents About Investigation Into Former Staff Member Accused of Inappropriate Contact With Children

Bethel Superintendent of Schools Christine Carver sent a letter to all parents on Saturday further elaborating on allegations made against a Bethel school employee, who has since resigned their position in the district.

Carver stresses in the letter, which is below, that the district is cooperating fully with investigators. All that was released on Friday was that the pending investigation into the unnamed staff member involved allegations of inappropriate activities with minor children.

Read Carver’s full letter to parents here:

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Staff Members: Since my communication yesterday, there have been several inquiries that have come up consistently.

To ensure all parents receive the appropriate information, I thought an update from my correspondence yesterday would be appropriate.

I will continue to update you when I have information available to me that I am authorized to share.

Question: Why can I as a parent not get more specific information? Why was the information released on a Friday afternoon?

Answer:  As I indicated in my letter yesterday, the state is investigating the allegations made. The district is obligated to coordinate investigatory activities, including the release of information, with state authorities conducting the investigation.

The district will continue to cooperate with the authorities with respect to the investigation, including the release of information, so as to avoid any compromise to the integrity of the investigation.

We understand and respect that parents would like to get as much information as possible, and we will work with the investigating agencies to release information as appropriate to the investigatory process.

As I stated in my letter yesterday, the district was made aware of the investigation on Thursday afternoon. Upon learning of the pending investigation, the staff member was placed immediately on administrative leave with pay and steps were taken to ensure that the employee would not come onto school property or have access to the district’s computer system.

The employee has since resigned employment with the Bethel Public Schools.

Working with investigatory authorities, we were authorized to release information to staff and parents on Friday.

If any parents have specific questions, please send me an email at carverc@bethel.k12.ct.us with your phone number. I will call you within 24 hours and try and address any questions that I am legally able to answer.

Question: Did anything happen at Berry School?

Answer: To date, the authorities have not shared any information with the district that indicates that any misconduct occurred on school grounds. Please understand that the district has very limited information, as the investigation is ongoing.

Sincerely,

Christine Carver, Ed. D. Superintendent of Schools