Defense attorneys seek dismissals in cases against Bellingham school administrators

The attorneys for three Bellingham Public Schools administrators charged with failing to report a student’s sexual assaults have asked the court to dismiss the cases, contending the state law requiring child abuse and neglect to be reported does not include conduct between two juveniles.

Meghan V. Dunham, Jeremy Gilbert Louzao and Maude Chimere Hackney were each criminally cited in early December in Whatcom County District Court with one count of failure to report, which is a gross misdemeanor.

All three of the administrators have entered not guilty pleas. Gross misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The school district is providing legal defense for the three administrators, as required by state law for public employers required to report abuse.

Dunham’s criminal defense attorney, Stephen Jackson, filed a motion Wednesday, Feb. 22, asking the court to dismiss Dunham’s case, according to court records.

Louzao’s defense attorney, Bob Butler, requested Wednesday to join the dismissal motion.

“Simply put, the law violation charged does not apply to Jeremy or the other two administrators,” Butler said.

Michael Brodsky, Hackney’s defense attorney, also filed a dismissal motion Wednesday based on the same arguments. Brodsky also argued Hackney’s case should be dismissed because Hackney only found out about the student’s sexual assault allegations after the student had reported them to police, court records show.

“I am looking forward to presenting this case in court and appreciate the members of our community who have reserved judgment until all the facts come out,” Jackson said in a prepared statement sent to The Bellingham Herald.

Brodsky echoed Jackson’s sentiments, saying he hoped “people reserve judgment in this case until they’ve heard all the facts.”

Bellingham Public Schools declined to comment Thursday on the legal issues.

A hearing on the motion to dismiss is scheduled for March 2. The Herald has asked the prosecuting attorney’s office for comment.

Background

Dunham, Louzao and Hackney are accused of failing to report to either law enforcement or a state child welfare agency the alleged sexual assaults of a former Squalicum High School female student that she brought to their attention roughly a year ago, The Herald previously reported.

All three administrators are mandatory reporters and are required by state law to report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement or the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families.

At the time the criminal citations were issued, Louzao and Dunham were serving as assistant principals at Squalicum High School, while Hackney was serving as an assistant principal at Bellingham High School.

All three were reassigned in early January to the school district’s Department of Teaching and Learning, where they currently remain. The district has yet to make a decision whether the reassignments will become permanent and has no timeline for when that decision will be made, according to Dana Smith, a Bellingham Public Schools spokesperson.

The male student accused of sexually assaulting the female student is charged with felony indecent liberties by forcible compulsion in Whatcom County Juvenile Court. He’s also facing two other criminal court cases for unrelated conduct. All three cases are pending, court records show.

The former Squalicum High School female student who accused the school district of mishandling her sexual assault reports filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Dec. 7, 2022, against Bellingham Public Schools. The student, who has since withdrawn from the high school and is now attending a separate school, accused the district in her lawsuit of violating her federal Title IX rights, failing its duty to protect and care for her and of neglecting its duties to report the sexual assaults to law enforcement.

She previously sought $1 million in damages from the district before filing the federal lawsuit.

In its January response to the lawsuit, Bellingham Public Schools denied it mishandled the student’s sexual assault reports. The district said it took reasonable steps to stop the reported harassment, that the assault allegations contained in the student’s lawsuit were not reported to the administrators and that the conduct that was reported to them was not considered abuse or neglect under state law.

The federal lawsuit is currently pending, court records show.

Student contact

Because the Washington State Legislature intended for the state’s child abuse laws to only apply to abuse and neglect by parents, custodians or guardians of children, the criminal cases against the school administrators should be dismissed, Jackson, Dunham’s defense attorney, argued.

The state’s child abuse laws are specifically limited to abuse or neglect between a child and parent, custodian or guardian. Nowhere in those laws is contact between two juveniles — such as student to student contact — included, regardless of whether the contact was consensual, Jackson argued.

Because of this, Jackson argued, the law surrounding mandatory reporting of child abuse and neglect does not apply to the sexual assaults reported by the former Squalicum High School student, and so the administrators can’t be charged with violating the law.

“It is reasonable to believe that the Legislature did not intend for (the state’s child abuse laws) to apply to reports of abuse or neglect involving underage peers. Thus, criminalizing Ms. Dunham’s actions would be an unjust interpretation of the statute,” Jackson wrote.

While the male student’s conduct is considered sexual harassment under state regulations, those regulations and the trainings provided by Bellingham Public Schools also did not require Dunham to report the female student’s allegations, Jackson argued.

If the court decides state child abuse laws do include peer to peer contact, it would require mandatory reporters to report any sexual activity between students, Jackson suggested. That would lead to “an unjust and absurd result,” he wrote.

After reporting the sexual assault allegations to Louzao and Dunham in January 2022, the female student reported the allegations directly to Bellingham police on Feb 2, The Herald previously reported.

While the student and a family member were at the police station, the family member sent an email to Hackney and Louzao telling them the female student was filing a police report, according to court records.

The student then returned to Squalicum High School, where she met with Hackney and “told her everything in grave detail,” records state.

Brodsky’s motion regarding Hackney’s case contends that since a police report had already been filed and Hackney didn’t learn of the allegations prior to the student going to police, Hackney was no longer subject to mandatory reporting laws requiring her to report the student’s accusations.

Arguments in all three administrators’ cases will be heard Thursday.

Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:

Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.

Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.

Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/

Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.

WWU Survivor Advocacy Services at the Counseling & Wellness Center: 360-650-7982 or https://cwc.wwu.edu/survivorservices.

Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.