Editor’s note: This article is by Todd Wellington of the Caledonian Record, in which it was first published April 2, 2014.
Caledonia Central Supervisory Union Superintendent Martha Tucker is no longer facing criminal charges.
Judge Robert Bent dismissed misdemeanor charges against Tucker for neglect of duty by a public officer and failure to report an allegation of child abuse, following a two-hour hearing in Caledonia Superior Court on Tuesday.
The charges had been pending against Tucker, 58, since last summer when she and Danville School Principal Noah Noyes, 30, were both accused of failing to report an allegation, that a teacher grabbed a female student’s buttocks, to the Department of Children and Families within 24 hours.
Tucker, through her attorney Pietro Lynn of Burlington, asked the court to dismiss the charges saying under the state’s “mandatory reporter” law Tucker was only mandated to report the allegation to DCF if she had “reasonable cause” to believe the allegation.
On Tuesday, Lynn convinced the judge that there wasn’t enough evidence to trigger Tucker’s responsibilities under the mandatory reporter law.
“The judgement at the time was that it (the allegation) was probably not true,” said Lynn.
Lynn was aided in his argument by Tucker’s former co-defendant, Noyes, who testified under subpoena for the state about his conversation with Tucker on the day the abuse allegation was brought to his attention.
Noyes settled the charges against him through the top-secret diversion program. According to Deputy Caledonia County State’s Attorney Maria Byford, Noyes has completed his diversion requirements and testified with immunity.
Noyes first said he and Tucker discussed how to handle the student’s complaint about the teacher. He said that they agreed it would be investigated as a harassment claim and not as child abuse.
“We discussed a plan of action moving forward,” said Noyes. “It fell under the category of harassment.”
But when Byford pressed Noyes for more information about the conversation, including what they discussed and what Tucker knew about the student’s allegation, Noyes repeatedly claimed he couldn’t remember.
“I don’t remember the conversation,” said Noyes. “I remember that we talked but I don’t remember the specifics of our conversation. I don’t recall any specific conversation about reporting and not reporting.”
Byford, who inherited the case when former Caledonia County Deputy State’s Attorney Ben Luna left the prosecutor’s office to take another job, said the statute was not clear on exactly what “reasonable cause” was.
“Because the Legislature hasn’t defined it, we’re all grappling with it,” said Byford.
Noyes and Tucker were both charged by state police in July of 2013. Both pleaded not guilty to the charges in August. Both have announced they are leaving their Danville jobs at the end of this school year. The Danville teacher implicated in the underlying complaint has not been charged with a crime.
