Mother of Victim Speaking Out About Sex Assault at School
By: Lauren Trager, KARK 4 News
Updated: January 30, 2013
Former security guard for Horace Mann Arts and Science Magnet Middle School in Little Rock Robert Myles is now charged with sexually assaulting two fourteen year old students.
A mother of one of those victims is speaking out, saying she's shocked and angry about who failed to protect her child.
Myles was fired right after the assault was reported. but still, some believe there could be other victims.
One parent we spoke with says Myles isn't the only one to blame.
"It hurts to talk about it, to even think about it," said the mother.
We concealed the mother's identity to protect her son.
In November, the woman we'll call Jane received news no mother should ever have to.
"She told me that the security guard had molested my son," Jane said.
According to police, Jane's 14-year-old son had come forward saying Richard Myles had touched him inappropriately during school hours when the two were alone in a classroom.
A substitute security guard at the school Myles, Jane says, had previously offered to mentor the boy, had even invited him to stay the night at Myles' home, but Jane had refused to allow it.
"When I met him, I told my son, I said, something about him is just not right," Jane said.
Jane says she's devastated by the assault, but even more so by what happened after.
District employees, she says, questioned the truth of the boy's statements. More, police and prosecutors, she says, shouldn't have waited until this week to press charges.
"It was like my son was just garbage, that they didn't care about what happened to my son," she said.
Police say they had good reason for needing more time.
"Once we get the allegation we can't necessarily make an arrest. We have to substantiate it, and during the investigation we located a second victim so we needed the time to investigation," said Sgt. Cassandra Davis with Little Rock Police.
Sgt. Davis says other victims may still be out there.
That's the very reason Jane says she wanted other parents to know what's happened.
"I'm not going to allow this to be swept under the rug and pushed aside, I won't allow it," she said.
The school district says they know this information is discouraging, but they assure parents. They are investigating what happened and they say they are committed to students' safety and security.
The suspect is out on bond.
A mother of one of those victims is speaking out, saying she's shocked and angry about who failed to protect her child.
Myles was fired right after the assault was reported. but still, some believe there could be other victims.
One parent we spoke with says Myles isn't the only one to blame.
"It hurts to talk about it, to even think about it," said the mother.
We concealed the mother's identity to protect her son.
In November, the woman we'll call Jane received news no mother should ever have to.
"She told me that the security guard had molested my son," Jane said.
According to police, Jane's 14-year-old son had come forward saying Richard Myles had touched him inappropriately during school hours when the two were alone in a classroom.
A substitute security guard at the school Myles, Jane says, had previously offered to mentor the boy, had even invited him to stay the night at Myles' home, but Jane had refused to allow it.
"When I met him, I told my son, I said, something about him is just not right," Jane said.
Jane says she's devastated by the assault, but even more so by what happened after.
District employees, she says, questioned the truth of the boy's statements. More, police and prosecutors, she says, shouldn't have waited until this week to press charges.
"It was like my son was just garbage, that they didn't care about what happened to my son," she said.
Police say they had good reason for needing more time.
"Once we get the allegation we can't necessarily make an arrest. We have to substantiate it, and during the investigation we located a second victim so we needed the time to investigation," said Sgt. Cassandra Davis with Little Rock Police.
Sgt. Davis says other victims may still be out there.
That's the very reason Jane says she wanted other parents to know what's happened.
"I'm not going to allow this to be swept under the rug and pushed aside, I won't allow it," she said.
The school district says they know this information is discouraging, but they assure parents. They are investigating what happened and they say they are committed to students' safety and security.
The suspect is out on bond.
