Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said there was no data on sexual assault. Records show that this is not true.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Records obtained from WBTV show leaders at Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools recorded significantly fewer cases of reported rapes and sexual assaults over a five-year period.

The data, obtained by WBTV for the first time after years of efforts to obtain the records, also includes details about where sexual violence has been reported across the school district.

A WBTV reporter first requested this information in June 2021, requesting “all sexual assault and/or rape tracking data for all Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools since January 1, 2011.”

In response, the district created a data page and directed the reporter to summarize the data released by the NC Department of Public Instruction.

However, the district said it does not have detailed data that would show a breakdown of reports by school or an annual list of reports.

The information is among the records that are the subject of a lawsuit filed by WBTV against the school district, alleging the district violated the NC Public Records Act by failing to provide all relevant documents.

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In the lawsuit, three CMS employees filed affidavits under oath claiming all response documents had been provided.

Stephanie McKinney, who worked as CMS Title IX coordinator, said she “provided all data in response to this request that was contained in PowerSchool and submitted to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,” the state’s public records officer District, Stephen Sharpless.

In his affidavit, Sharpless said he received documents from McKinney.

“After reviewing the documents, I published 1 1-page document…to the full satisfaction” of the request.

CMS General Counsel Andre Mayes also submitted an affidavit. In her filing, Mayes said she was ultimately responsible for creating public records. Her affidavit included a spreadsheet detailing the district’s response to each of WBTV’s records requests.

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The table states that in response to the request for sexual assault data in June 2021, CMS created a records page and wrote “none” under a field for withheld records.

But WBTV obtained 167 pages of records containing detailed accounts of rapes, sexual assaults and other cases of inappropriate sexual incidents and inappropriate sexual incidents in schools across the district.

Data paints a picture of a decreasing record-keeping requirement

The records are called “Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment Disciplinary Data” and cover the 2010-2011 through 2014-2015 school years.

The sheer volume of records paints a picture of a sharp decline in records over this period: 49 pages of records for the 2010-2011 school year; 52 pages for 2011-2012; 46 pages in 2012–2013; 11 pages in 2013-2014; and 9 pages for the 2014-2015 school year.

WBTV interviewed nearly a dozen students who reported sexual violence at CMS schools between 2015 and 2023.

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Students who said they were raped or sexually abused at Myers Park High School from 2015 to 2020 were told they could get in trouble if they filed a report that was later found to be unfounded.

WBTV first reported in fall 2021 that a Hawthorne Academy High School student was suspended for filing a false sexual harassment report, even though police had charged a male student in that incident.

The CMS attorney does not answer questions

Of the three employees who submitted affidavits requested by WBTV to produce data on sexual violence, only one remains in his position.

Andre Mayes, who filed the affidavit and detailed spreadsheet stating no records were withheld, still works at CMS General Counsel. She reports directly to the Education Committee.

A WBTV reporter sent Mayes two emails asking for an explanation as to why she said under oath that the district did not withhold documents in June 2021 in response to the station’s request.

Mayes ignored both.

Data: Click here to view detailed sexual assault data

Mayes continued to refuse to answer questions when a reporter approached her outside a school board meeting at the government center.

“I’m not talking to you,” Mayes initially told a reporter who asked about the affidavit she filed.

When the reporter later asked Mayes whether she had a duty of honesty as a court official, the lawyer broke her silence.

“You have to be careful,” Mayes said, without elaborating on what she meant by the comment.

A spokesperson for CMS declined to comment for this story.

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