Exclusive: Emails reveal more detail in IPS' handling of abuse case

Copies of emails released Thursday by Indianapolis Public Schools raise more questions about the district's handling of sexual abuse allegations involving former school counselor Shana Taylor.

Taylor, who is accused of having sex with two students, was charged in March with nine felony counts of child seduction, one felony count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The school district on Thursday released 270 PDFs of emails and email attachments in response to a March 14 public records request from IndyStar that sought emails containing information about the district's handling of the case. IPS officials said the records are the first batch of "several thousand documents" that will be provided.

Hundreds of pages of records were ​redacted for what the district cited as "deliberative," "attorney-client privileged," "personnel" and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act reasons.

But a few documents show the district's effort to quietly handle the case, rather than immediately reporting it to police or the Indiana Department of Child Services, as required by law.

IPS officials accused of hiding sexual abuse allegations

On Feb. 18 — one day after a student's mother presented evidence of an inappropriate relationship between her son and Taylor — school Principal Mark Cosand sent an email to another IPS employee asking for Taylor's badge to be deactivated.

"No questions," he wrote in the email. "Top secret."

That same day, IPS Human Resources Director Lela "Tina" Hester sent an email to Chief Strategist Le Boler that said: "I asked that the school police stay out of it so that she is not charged and we can handle from an HR perspective, but I don't know if the mom plans to file charges."

At least seven IPS officials knew about allegations against Taylor as early as Feb. 17, but no one reported them to DCS until Feb. 23, according to court records and interviews. Court records indicate officials did not report the allegations against Taylor until after they knew that a news outlet was aware of them.

Indiana law requires certain school officials to immediately report instances of suspected child abuse at their institutions to DCS or law enforcement.

Hester and Shalon Dabney, a human resources case manager, each were charged with a misdemeanor count of failure to make a report, Marion Superior Court records state. Both agreed to pretrial diversion, meaning they will not be prosecuted as long as they meet certain conditions and don't commit another offense.

None of the other five IPS officials was charged.

IPS Board President Mary Ann Sullivan said district officials moved quickly to address the situation. Hester and Dabney remain on paid suspension from the district.

“Now that there is resolution of the pending criminal proceedings, IPS is moving to conclude its investigation and initiate appropriate personnel actions,” Sullivan said at the board’s meeting Thursday. “Please be aware, however, that it will take some time to complete all of the due process and other statutory steps required by state law. It is important to understand while we all hope to resolve this matter as quickly as possible, as a public school we are bound by a number of legal requirements that limit our ability to act more expeditiously.”

The IPS Board on Thursday appointed special legal counsel to determine whether the district is required to cover Hester and Dabney’s legal fees.

Emails provided by IPS reveal the depth of school officials' investigation before they reported the situation to authorities. District officials gave police lengthy documentation about their efforts to look into the allegation, including interviews with Taylor.

The emails also show that IPS officials allowed Taylor to keep her school laptop even after she was placed on administrative leave. An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective requested Taylor's laptop on Feb. 23 to search for forensic evidence, school records state. It wasn't retrieved from her until March.

The newly released records also indicate that IPS Superintendent Lewis Ferebee, who learned of the allegations on Feb. 17, was unhappy with how long it took to fire Taylor.

On Feb. 26, the day after Taylor was arrested, Hester emailed Dabney saying: "Dr. Ferebee is not pleased that we didn't terminate her yesterday and now it looks like we did it because she was arrested. I shared that we were concerned about not giving her due process because we had set things up to finalize things today."

The next portion of the message was redacted. Hester ended her email with: "So, I guess the takeaway for us is did we move swiftly enough after getting the statements from the brother? I can't remember when you received his statement?"

DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura previously told IndyStar that it is DCS' responsibility to assess and ensure the safety of children. Timely reports also help DCS and police preserve evidence.

"Everyone has a role to play," Bonaventura said. "Ours is to investigate suspected child abuse or neglect. There’s really no place for schools to do their own investigation. That’s not their expertise."

Taylor was fired March 4. Her criminal court case is pending.

IndyStar reporter Chelsea Schneider contributed to this story.

Call IndyStar reporter Marisa Kwiatkowski at (317) 444-6135. Follow her on Twitter: @IndyMarisaK.

Call IndyStar reporter Tim Evans at (317) 444-6204. Follow him on Twitter: @starwatchtim.