Samohi to answer bell after summer of scandal
By GENEVA WHITMARSH Daily Press Staff Writer
SAMOHI — In the last two months, the Santa Monica High School community has seen both its assistant band director and an assistant coach face allegations of sexual misconduct with minors. Now, with some students scheduled to return to campus next week, officials are searching for ways to field questions and alleviate concerns.
Carl Hammer, the assistant band director at Samohi, was arrested Aug. 6 on two felony counts of allegedly performing “lewd and lascivious” sex acts upon a child. Police said the alleged victim is a 14-year-old girl, but would not divulge whether or not she is enrolled in the district.
Hammer turned himself into authorities after the local police department and the California Department of Children and Family Services investigated the allegations and issued an arrest warrant for him. The 37-year-old has worked for the school district for nine years — at Samohi, and Lincoln and John Adams middle schools.
Hammer has been placed on administrative leave and is not allowed to participate in school activities, be on school property or have contact with any students until the matter is legally resolved, said school superintendent John Deasy.
Mike Hearn, also 37, worked at Samohi as a “walk-on” assistant football and basketball coach, meaning he was employed during the school’s sports seasons. Hearn was arrested June 2 and charged with six counts of unlawful sex with a 17-year-old girl, two more counts for allegedly having oral sex and performing a lewd act upon a 15-year-old girl, and one last count for sharing pornographic materials with a third girl, also 15.
District leaders maintained that the 17-year-old girl wasn’t a Samohi student, but said, to the best of their knowledge, the other two alleged victims were. Hearn pleaded not guilty. His contract was not renewed for the upcoming year, Deasy said.
School officials have not filled the vacant assistant coach position, but have tapped part-time band consultant Abel Ramirez to fill in as assistant band director. Ramirez currently works as an instructor at Cal State Los Angeles.
Other music faculty will pick up classes left vacant by Hammer’s absence, according to Samohi principal Ilene Straus.
“This is a short-term arrangement, because, obviously, this whole thing was sudden, and we weren’t expecting it at all,” said Straus, adding that Ramirez’s post is temporary, pending the outcome of the investigation.
“We don’t know how the investigation will play out and what the outcome will be, and we have to protect (Hammer’s) rights, but at the same time, we have to give our kids a good, solid education,” she said. “I’ve watched (Ramirez) with the band in the past, and he’s talented, strong and very respected by the music faculty.”
School officials said the district is letting the police handle the investigation, but preparing for questions from concerned students and parents.
“It’s hard to say” what the campus atmosphere will be when school resumes on Sept. 8, Deasy acknowledged. “(The alleged incidents involving Hammer and Hearn) were neither at the school or on school property,” he said. “It’s important people know that.”
The high school’s annual band camp will begin Aug. 23, and school officials say they have worked out a detailed plan to alleviate the concerns of students, parents and teachers.
Trained psychologists and counselors will be available Monday to meet with students and provide support, listen to their concerns and answer questions. Straus said she and other administrators will also be on hand and will meet with the Band Parents Association to answer questions.
“Basically, we’ll tell them that (the alleged incident is under investigation), he’s innocent until proven guilty, by contract he’s continuing on administrative leave, and we’re cooperating with the police in any way we can,” she said.
Deasy said the school will notify parents of the alleged incidents when the school year resumes, again refraining from specifics. And, finally, they will brief faculty on the matter.
“We have 4,000 students, and many of them won’t know who (Hammer) is,”
Deasy said. “But there will be those students who definitely had a working relationship with him, so we want to be sure we can be there for them.
“It’s going to be a very extensive outreach,” he added. “Obviously, something like this is not common, but as with any traumatic event, we want to provide counseling, outreach and support. But we’re not going to discuss the specifics of the (alleged incident) at all, because it’s a police matter. We’re not in the legal loop, and nor should we be.”
Cheri Orgel, co-president of Samohi’s PTSA, said she and other parents she’s spoken to are “concerned with the individuals’ rights and are, therefore, not jumping to any conclusions.”
“At the same time,” she said, “everyone wants to make sure that our students’ best interests are always concerned.”
The school district requires job candidates to submit to fingerprinting, reference checks and criminal background checks, Deasy said. The background checks are run through a database maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and will only cull the individuals who have arrests and convictions behind them.
Hearn did not have a sexual offender record, but had apparently been in trouble with the law years before. A Michael David Hearn with the same birth date and physical characteristics was convicted of grand theft auto 15 years ago, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.
“I wasn’t aware of that,” Deasy said, regarding Hearn’s apparent grand theft auto conviction. “There is a statue of limitations.”
Roy Einreinhofer, executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification, said he doesn’t believe the actual number of teacher sex-related crimes are rising dramatically, but that more victims are coming forward to report them. His Massachusetts-based organization maintains a database of teacher license revocations. All 50 states report and have access to the information.
One of the main reasons for revoking a teacher’s license is some type of criminal conviction, Einreinhofer said. In recent years, the number of revocations reported has remained fairly steady. The nation has about 2.7 million teachers, and about 2,200 revocations are reported each year. The database was created to keep bad teachers from leaving one state and going to another where officials have not been notified of past offenses.
California is one of 44 states that performs in-depth background checks on school employees. There are computer-ized versions of the FBI fingerprint background check available. Once a print is obtained, results are available within an hour. In some cases, however, it can take up to 30 days to receive results on an FBI background check.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 18, 2004. Read the original PDF.