Five employees of Midland Christian School in Midland, Texas, have been arrested by local police following an investigation into allegations of a sexual assault that took place on campus around Jan. 20, 2022, during a baseball practice. News West 9 reports that three school administrators and two coaches were arrested on charges of “Failure To Report With Intent To Conceal Neglect Or Abuse.”
The Midland Reporter-Telegram reports that Midland County officials released the names of the school members being held at the county jail as Jared Owen Lee, Gregory Neal McClendon, Barry Lee Russell, Matthew David Counts, and Dana Elizabeth Ellis. Lee is the school’s superintendent. YourBasin.com reported that parents who spoke to them mentioned that a “disturbing video of a sexual assault” had been moving through social media circles.
Police say they became aware of the alleged assault on Jan. 28 and spoke with the victim on Feb. 11. The early reports say that a freshman student was assaulted in a locker room at Christensen Stadium on Jan. 20. According to an affidavit, the victim was told to change in the locker room when the lights were turned off, was told it was "freshman initiation day,” and then began to be hit and screamed at. At some point during this assault, the victim said he was sexually assaulted with a baseball bat.
After speaking with the victim on Friday, Feb. 11, police say they went to the school to speak with the superintendent but was told he was not in. The following Monday, Feb. 14, the superintendent contacted investigators but refused to answer any of their questions “and requested police obtain a search warrant.” Later on Feb. 14, having acquired said search warrant, the Midland Police Department went and got the documentation of the assault, and determined the documentation had been created Feb. 11 and Feb. 12.
Police say that all five faculty members were instructed to look into the matter without contacting law enforcement and clearly had not done much of anything in regards to following through on their legal responsibilities to either the victim or their community. In failing to report the sexual assault to Midland police, all five faculty members broke the requirements set out by the Texas Family Code.
The president of the Midland Christian School’s board of trustees sent a written statement to the Reporter-Telegram saying:
“The five administrators were notified of an alleged hazing incident involving some of our student-athletes that resulted in school disciplinary action.
“Subsequently, school leadership was contacted by MPD regarding the alleged incident. Our school officials have, and will continue to, cooperate with law enforcement and their investigation. Currently, we have qualified acting administrators to supervise the campus, oversee student activities, support faculty, and maintain the day-to-day operation of the school.”
The Midland Police Department says that beyond the interviews, they also have obtained digital correspondence between the individuals arrested that shows they broke the law.