Atlantic City High School Principal Didn't Report Child Abuse: Prosecutor

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — The principal of Atlantic City High School was charged with official misconduct after failing to report that one of the school's students was being abused at home, according to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office.

Constance Days-Chapman was charged with second-degree official misconduct, third-degree hindering apprehension of another, fourth-degree obstruction of justice and disorderly persons failure to report child abuse, officials said.

On Jan. 22, an underage student at the high school told a staff member that they had been emotionally and physically abused by their parents, authorities said. The student also said that they had previously told Days-Chapman about the abuse, officials said.

When that staff member later discussed the same matter with Days-Chapman, she denied that the student told her about the abuse, but told the staffer she would report it to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), authorities said.

The staff member and another witness to the conversation believed that Days-Chapman would report the abuse as they left her office, officials said. The other witness even told Days-Chapman that she herself would report it, but Days-Chapman apparently insisted that she would make the notification, according to authorities.

Later that evening, Days-Chapman met with the students' parents at their house to tell them their child had reported being abused to school staff, authorities said.

DCP&P confirmed to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office that they never received a report of abuse from Days-Chapman or anyone at the school, officials said.