Bryan Promises to Release Results of CAHS Rape Case Investigation | News

But Bryan promised to release the investigation’s findings publicly and said he would provide an update “as soon as I get it.”

Smith, 53, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on April 26 after admitting to raping numerous victims over 15 years and filming some of the abuse.

Since he began working at the school in 2006, Smith used his authority as a track coach and gym supervisor to manipulate and rape male students. At least a dozen victims have been identified during a federal investigation that began in April 2021.

School administrators received reports of Smith’s inappropriate behavior toward students several years before his arrest but did not inform law enforcement, and VI police said they never received reports about Smith.

In 2018, a school witness reported that Smith was seen in Magens Bay late at night with a school bus and a student who was getting dressed. School officials met with Smith, but there was “no change,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Baker said at Smith’s sentencing.

In 2019, Smith accompanied track and field athletes to a competition in Puerto Rico, where he shared a room with a student and began massaging the child’s legs. When Smith touched the boy’s groin, he ran out of the room, called his mother and asked her to go home.

The student told his mother that Smith had assaulted him, and “his mother complained to the principal at the time of Charlotte Amalie,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Everard Potter said in March 2019.

Director Edwards received the report, but “nothing happened,” Potter said.

In April 2021, U.S. Department of Homeland Security agents “received a call from the same parents” and began an investigation that uncovered the shocking extent of Smith’s abuse, Potter said.

Alcede Edwards was principal of Charlotte Amalie High School in March 2019. Edwards is listed as the current principal on the VI Division of Personnel website, but efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

Department of Education spokeswoman Shayla Solomon did not respond to questions from The Daily News about whether Edwards is still employed by the Department of Education and whether he or other school employees will face consequences for not informing police about reports about Smith.

Days after Smith’s arrest, former education spokeswoman Cynthia Graham said an investigation was underway “into allegations that the CAHS government was made aware of the alleged abuse in 2019. If the investigation determines that this information is accurate, appropriate action will be taken.”

Title 5 of the VI Code specifically lists a number of professionals who are required to report child abuse and rape, including “school teachers or other school personnel.”

At the time of Smith’s arrest, officers who failed to do so faced a misdemeanor charge and a maximum fine of $500 and a year in prison. This penalty was increased in 2022 to a felony, punishable by a fine of between $5,000 and $10,000 and a prison sentence of between two and five years.

The human resources department took over the internal investigation, which lasted more than three years.

“The Department of Human Services has been conducting an investigation for some time,” Bryan said Monday.

“We didn’t want education to examine education. There were, what can I say, a lot of rumors about who was involved and whether people in top positions knew what was going on. “So we wanted to make sure that when we release a document or a statement, we knew that we wanted it to be as pristine as possible, so we chose Human Services,” Bryan said.

Education Commissioner Racquel Berry-Benjamin resigned in 2022 and Human Services Commissioner Kimberly Causey-Gomez resigned in 2023.

The government has said nothing publicly about the Smith investigation.

“I need to make sure I follow up on this and keep it in good standing and let the public know that the public is extremely concerned about this situation, as are we,” Bryan said.

He assured the public that he would “absolutely” release the results of the investigation and determine whether school personnel failed to report Smith to law enforcement.

“It is the law of the Virgin Islands that every person who has the right to interact with children and people with disabilities or state guardians must be held accountable, that is the law. “It is not a decision on my part,” Bryan said .

The Education Department launched an anonymous hotline in 2022 and said callers can report misconduct anonymously at videcomplianceline.com or by calling or texting “REPORT” to 800-403-2461.

Anyone wishing to report suspicions of child abuse or other crimes is also asked to contact the VI Police Department at 911, the Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Major Crimes Unit at 340-642-8449, or the anonymous tip line Crime Stoppers VI to turn below 800. 222-8477.

The case against Smith was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, which encourages the public to report suspected child abusers and any suspicious activity via its toll-free hotline at 800-981-3030 or 787-729-6969.