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Girl, 10, Arrested; All Charges Dropped Against Teacher In Abuse Case
May 11, 2011
Sexual misconduct charges have been dropped against an Escambia County music teacher because the 10-year old victim — now charged with filing a false police report – said she made the story up.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said Wednesday afternoon that the Office of the State Attorney will dismiss all charges against Kenneth Campbell of Cantonment, a music teacher at Spencer-Bibbs Elementary School, for sexual misconduct with a student.
A thorough investigation conducted by the Pensacola Police Department assisted by the Department of Children and Families, and the Office of the State Attorney determined after the initial complaint was filed that the allegations of the student were inconsistent and not corroborated by other facts and circumstances, according to Eddins.
When confronted with the factual inconsistencies, the 10 year old victim admitted to investigators that she had made the allegations up in an effort to change schools..
“The truth needs to be sought out before you ruin somebody’s life,” Campbell said during a press conference at his lawyer’s office Wednesday afternoon.
Late Wednesday afternoon, the Pensacola Police Department said the 1o-year old girl had been arrested on charged with filing a false police report, a first degree misdemeanor. She was released from the Escambia County Jail into the care of a guardian.
“It is really sad that a child would repeatedly make up a story that could end up getting someone arrested and jeopardizing their career,” said Chief Chip W. Simmons.
Initially, the girl told family members the incidents began a few weeks prior to April 19. She said Campbell had rubbed her shoulders in class, fondled her breasts and told her if she told anyone he would hurt her and kill her family. During that time period, the child also developed behavioral problems at home and at school.
Capt. Paul Kelly said the girl was consistent with her allegations during several interviews with detectives and Child Protection Team members.
Based upon the child’s consistency in her allegations, an affidavit was initiated for Campbell, signed by a judge and he was arrested.
Later, officers were called to the child’s home to investigate an allegation she had battered another family member. That claim has been referred to the Department of Children and Family Services as part of the entire case.
Kelly said during follow-up interviews after Campbell’s arrest, the child began to add exaggerated allegations about Campbell.
Eventually, she admitted her allegations against Campbell were false and told detectives she had fabricated the allegations because she didn’t like him and she wanted to change from Spencer Bibbs Elementary to another school.
Pictured: Falsely-accused Spencer Bibbs Elementary School music teacher Kenneth Campbell. Photo courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Comments
40 Responses to “Girl, 10, Arrested; All Charges Dropped Against Teacher In Abuse Case”
This poor man may have had charges dropped, but his life IS ruined. And it will always be in the back of some person’s mind the thought of “did he really do it”.
VERY sad. This girl probably wanted attention, well she sure has got it now at the expense of someone else. Once again, Very sad.
Let this girl have it. Do not spare her on account of her age! She must learn there are consequences for her actions. The media and public was ready to drive him out on a rail over a disgruntled child’s false allegation. Kids think they are entitled to everything without doing anything. She probably got mad and wanted to make the teacher pay. She, of course, entitled to everything! She was determined to get her way no matter whose life she ruined. After all, she is entitled to whatever she wants. Throw the book at her!
Being a male teacher in Escambia County, this is a constant concern of mine. I ensure that I am never alone with any female student at any time or at least in the viewing area of a camera. I truly sympathize for Mr. Campbell and any other teacher that is unjustly accused of a crime of this nature.
As for the student involved, she (her family) should be required to pay ALL legal fees to include loss of wages to this gentleman. These should be the CONSEQUENCES of her ACTIONS!
I will continue to follow this one. I want to see what kind of punishment they will hand down to this child. I also think that the accused should be reimbursed for his expenses for this. In other words made whole again after being found not guilty. It actually goes on further than that because of the time and effort that was put in by all concerned.
I’m sure the parents will get naile with the expenses as a result of this little girls irresponsibility. Sad!
Poor man. He will probably be in debt for many years to pay off the lawyer.
Deuteronomy 19:15 says: “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ”
If we would return to this biblical principle we’d worry less about false convictions.
I knew a man who was falsely accused of a terrible crime by one person. The accuser confessed the lie, but not before he went $10,000 in debt to a lawyer. What did the lawyer do? Basically just paperwork. He filed this document and that document. The accuser got off scot-free.
This 10 yr old is thinking and acting like an adult, then try her as an adult!! She shouldn’t get off the hook because of her age. She nearly destroyed this gentlemens life.
i’ve been told by coaches and teachers that they are constantly reminded to never meet with a female student one on one alone for anything. always have other students or an adult present. teenagers get jelous that someone is getting too much attention and spread rumors. teaching is a very tough and stressful job. no wonder the burn out rate is so high, not to mention the pay.
Another case solved. Maybe another life tremendously affected. Not too long ago another case of child abuse by a man and his wife who was a school teacher. Their lives were greatly interrupted by the same such thing. In the end all have been exonerated but they can barely hold their heads up in public because they have been labeled as such. All the comments made on this post from people jumping to conclusions are just as guilty of sin as as any person involved on either side. The scripture clearly reads”Judge not lest ye be not judged”. Next time you put your fingers in motion make sure your life is beyond reproach.
If I recall correctly Century School had an incident like this several years back when a child accused an adult at the school of physical abuse over a cell phone incident.The accused had to hire and attorney(none are cheap,no matter how innocent you are)and go through hours of testimoney and questioning all the while trying to hold her head up because she knew as did most of the rest of the north end that she was innocent.I seem to remember a cast appearing out of no where on the child’s arm because of the incident.In the end it was found that nothing close to what the child and her parents said happened.Still the attorney fees were paid and the chil and her family walked away. I don’t recall any charges being brought against them.
of course they were out nada since the state represented them,our judicial system is neither just nor fair most of the time.I know you all get tired of me saying that. I have been there with my fammily,hired an attorneyu all because false accusations were made.Neither time did anything come out except we were not guilty,still attorney fees,heartache and confusion abounded.Today,years later,the perpertrators are reaping their rewards and it is not pretty.
This is not the first “witch hunt” regarding childrens allegations about sexual abuse … merely the most recent.
Read some of the following and your hair will curl if not fall out entirely.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMartin_preschool_trial
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_care_sex_abuse_hysteria
just an add on to my previous comment….just goes to show you how times and people have changes over the years, when i was 10 years old (female), we were climbing trees and riding bikes and didn’t have a worry or care in the world….this is just a shame that our society has become what it is today
WOW, 10 years old and already making up stories of a sexual nature. They sure start early now don’t they. Wonder what she will be up to by the time she’s 15 or 16…..guys, you better steer clear of this one
You are absolutely correct (again), David Huie!!!
I’m willing to bet that this child HAS been sexually abused and pointed the finger at the wrong person. If enough investigation is done, they will most likely discover that she has indeed been abused by someone.
Sad!
I checked to see if I had posted a comment on the original story. I hadn’t,
GOD is still alive. Can’t you see his hand in this!!! I’m glad that, since Mr. Campbell was not guilty, it was brought to light! GOD is good ALL of the time!! Thank GOD, he still answers prayers!!
If the 10 year wouldn’t have admitted it, you can bet everyone would be on the bandwagon of jailing the teacher and making them a sex offender. This is why people should not be so quick to judge
- – - which leads back to the thought some had that he should be locked up without bail until the trial at which point he should be found guilty and then kept in prison for the rest of his life because children don‘t lie.
Does it yet make sense that bail should be available–sometimes the accused should even be released on recognizance, that not every accused person is guilty, that children sometimes lie? (not always, but sometimes)
David glad the update was appended to the original story so folks won’t come across it and still feel hatred at a falsely accused person
To Don on slamming the school district. The school district had nothing to do with the police report, arrest, or the news community’s conviction of guilty till proven innocent version. The school district put him on administrative leave which is what they are supposed to do in a situations such as this. That is all they have done.
When you are charged with a crime like this, and you are not guilty…it makes it awfully hard to determine who you should let your kids be around once someone has been accused. I PRAISE GOD they stopped this lie before it went any further. It sounds like law enforcement did their best on this one.
It beats the investigator trumping up charges to make sure he gets another conviction…
I hope this mans ends up better off for this trial than he was before.
For those that would sue the police/school board and so on—if it was your child who lied and you trusted her, wouldn’t you want the person arrested?
Wow!!!! Looks to me like y’all appreciate teachers and being that I AM one…. Thank you! Gray lady hit the nail on the head! We are one sentence away from being on the front page. Keep loving your kids, and know we love them, too! Yes, even those pesky teenagers who test our will and patience. As they are the doctors, lawyers, and Indian chiefs of our future.
AMEN!!!!! Bamadude I was thinking the same thing hen I saw the headlines. I know things like this has to be checked out, but booooo to all of you who had him hung from a tall oak tree before knowing the truth!
This child should be punished; if not, it will set a very bad precedent for things like this in the future. However, I know that accusations like this, when they come to children in school, are always taken seriously as a policy. The school district isn’t being unfair when they take teachers out of the classroom when accusations are made. After all, imagine if the accusation had been true. An innocent child’s well-being could be at stake. The investigation process in the public school has to work a little differently than in the “real world” because the usual victims are children.
This happens all the time, many folks in prison wrongfully on “he said she said” no facts cases. Pressure to act is great. I agree that the girl should be fully prosecuted. There ARE consequences. One day we will go back to teaching right from wrong and having strong CORE values. Maybe in our schools as well as at home.
The School District and PPD should be required to pay all Mr. Campbell’s legal fees in this matter, now and in the future. There is no reason to say carry the parents of the child to court, cause they probably couldn’t pay a dime. Spencer Bibbs is an inner city school with almost 100% of the students on Free lunches. The kid wanted to change schools, and I bet if you were allowed to see her discipline records, they would be extensive.
Teachers stay terrified of this type of attack. With communication and news being what it is now, the man’s career in education is totally ruined. Even if his name is totally cleared, the public record is still out in cyberspace. People have this misconception that “their” kid would never lie about something this important. Many kids are manipulative, and will lie through their teeth if they think they can gain from it. Parents usually know they are lying, but will back their kids anyway.
How many of you fine upstanding citizens have guts enough to apologize to this man for all the comments you wrote the other day. This girl needs to have her butt whipped and not be able to sit for quite a while for what she tried to do to this man just because she wanted to change schools.
This school system will throw you under tha bus so fast the folkes that run HumanResourses and his boys don’t care about anyone just to make them look good had hoped the new Super. was going to be different but he is just a good ole boy himself such a shame I hope he sues them along with the others that are sueing them for being wrongly charged with a crime and found to be innocent.I work for the district for the last 30 years and its getting worse.Everyone is scared to be falsely charged with a crime so sad..
Why did the PPD arrest the man if there was not enough evidence. This happens way to often and when it does the person who was arrested is ruined for life. This man will bear a heavy cost for this. I think and hope he would sue the PPD for false arrest. This needs to stop, they need to have their ducks in a row before the arrest and ruin a mans life. This is nothing more then first grade detective work. We as citizens should demand better from our police force. This just pisses me off to no end. This could happen to any of us and why because the police did not do their job and “INVESTIGATE” before arresting an innocent person.
Enough said
I agree with BJay with the exception of that last quote about sparing the rod and spoiling the child. There is so much outrage when charges like these are made that a person has to wonder how many people are in prison falsely accused and then convicted by “witness” testimony alone. Punishment may not be appropriate for the child but surely some sort of therapy is. She was acting out to get attention for some sort of problem. It’s important to find out what that was, if that hasn’t already been determined.
I agree the child should be punished… she did alot of damage and cost the state alot of money and made an innocent man sit in jail, no way should she get a pack on the back with just words saying what she done was wrong, her parents not only should whip the child but let the law do their part… spare the rod spoil the child..
“When confronted with the factual inconsistencies, the 10 year old victim ……….. ”
First she was not a victim, liar, yes, criminal, perhaps!
“The Pensacola Police Department is considering whether to pursue juvenile criminal charges against the student for filing a false report of a crime, Eddins said.”
second she should be charged, it is not ok for people to make false claims and ruin other peoples lives because they are unhappy with their own situation, in this case, school. I also wonder how much tax money went into investigating all of this? at least 3 agencies were involved. Unreal!
this unhappy 10 year old girl could have ruined this mans life! the parents need to be parents and do something about this. just because she wanted to change schools!
there are LOTS of people that have some apologizing to do to this man…go back and look at the original blog of this story…
This does make one ponder the idea of just how many other teachers have had something like this happen to them. We all know this kind of thing ruins lives. This child should be punished in some manner what punishment that would be I do not know because of the age. However the child has to be accountable or the child will somewhere in life do something stupid like this again. Just saying.
I had heard about this earlier today and its a sad situation. It literally peeves me off that the “The Pensacola Police Department is considering whether to pursue juvenile criminal charges against the student for filing a false report of a crime’. Maybe the PPD should consider what this FALSE report has done to Mr. Campbell’s life. What he has lost by being WRONGFULLY accused of a disgusting crime. Im sure Ken will forgive the kid because he is a good christian man but the ppd should not be so quick to forgive. The kid commited a crime and should be punished by the fullest extent of the law. There shouldnt be any consideration, just actions! Lets see how many of you that were so quick to want “a tall tree and short piece of rope” for this man cry out for the same tree and rope for this girl. Spare the rod and spoil the child right?
They should persue charges in order to make an example to other students.
Praise God the truth has come out about Kenneth. Those of us who know him knew he would never do what that child had accused him of doing. May God bless him and his family as they try to put the pieces of their lives back together. Too bad so many people are so quick to judge before all the facts are in. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Thank you for the consistency in which you provide the news around our area; always fair, thorough, and never based on speculation alone, like some other agencies!!! Great job and please continue to provide the most accurate and dependable news possible!!!
I wonder how many times this happens and an innocent person (male or female)goes to jail and is labeled a sex offender or child molester.
Thank You North Escambia for being the first to print the story.
All I can say is. Our God is an Awesome God!!