Parents are furious with Jackson County School superintendent Jason Davidson, as well as staff and administrators at Skyline High School, after learning that a registered sex offender has reportedly been volunteering at sporting events.
At a recent school board meeting, numerous parents showed up to express their concerns about reports that Craig McGill, a teacher and basketball coach, and school administrators allowed Bryan Dale Farmer to volunteer at sporting events and at the concession stand, and to offer private coaching to students who were the same age as prior victims.
Farmer, who was a teacher and basketball coach in Tennessee at the time of his arrest, was indicted in 2007 on a total of 18 charges with three victims, which included four counts of statutory rape and 14 counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, according to an AP report.
Records indicate that the cases were tried separately and that Farmer was found guilty in the first one to go to trial and pleaded no contest to three counts of statutory rape in a second case later the same year.
A Nashville 5 News report at the time said, "The Tennessee State Board of Education stripped him of his teaching license."
In one case, he was found guilty of one count of sexual battery by an authority figure. An appeal court that upheld Farmer's sentencing cited the findings of the trial court, which wrote the following:
The defendant’s amenability to correction and his potential for rehabilitation is questionable given his continued insistence of innocence in the face of his conviction. The defendant’s acquittal of other charges may have turned on the credibility of the victim as defense counsel insists but more likely the acquittals turned on the state’s struggle to prove that the other conduct was accomplished by the exercise of the defendant’s supervisory or disciplinary power. Regardless of the reason for acquittal, for sentencing purposes, this court finds the victim’s testimony credible.
In a statement first reported by the Jackson County Sentinel last week, two days after the contentious school board meeting, the district confirmed an ongoing investigation but sought to minimize parents' concerns, while standing by school staff. The statement said in part:
In recent days, reports have been circulated via social media and in the news media of an allegation that a person registered as a sex offender has been involved in school activities as an approved volunteer at Skyline School. Contrary to some of the reports being circulated that the Superintendent and School Board have taken no action in response to these allegations, this allegation has been under investigation by the Superintendent and Board, in conjunction with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Investigators, for several months, and a thorough investigation is continuing. Appropriate action, if any, will be taken by the Superintendent and School Board once the investigation is completed
Before coming on campus, the Principal of the school provided written guidelines, as required by law, to the individual involved in the investigation, advising him of the conditions under which he could come on any Jackson County School System property or attend any school event. After it was reported to the Superintendent that the individual may have violated those rules, the Superintendent issued a written notice to the individual banning him from coming onto any Jackson County School System property or attending any Jackson County School System event. The individual in question was never an employee of Jackson County School System, nor was he ever considered for employment.
It is important to note that there has been no allegation that any student was ever harmed or placed in a position of potential harm by the individual’s presence on campus or off campus. The sole issue being investigated is whether the individual was present on Skyline campus as an authorized and approved volunteer and was in the presence of students in violation of the requirements set forth in Alabama Law and the restrictions imposed on him by the Jackson County School System, and, if so, was his presence on the campus around students sanctioned or directed by any employee of the Jackson County School System.
“The Superintendent and School Board are committed to continuing this investigation, in conjunction with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, until the actual facts are known. The due process of law requires nothing less. Neither the Board nor the Superintendent will take action against any person based on rumors, unsubstantiated “reports,” or supposition.
A second statement by the superintendent, released later the same day, confirmed that Craig McGill, a teacher and basketball coach, was placed on administrative leave as the district investigation continues. The statement did not name McGill by name.
Sheriff Rockey Hornon confirmed to the Jackson County Sentinel that Farmer was arrested earlier this year, but provided a statement that seemingly contradicts that of the school system.
"Harnen said Jackson County Schools reached out to the Sheriff's Office on Feb. 4 with concerns about Farmer. Farmer was arrested and charged with a SORNA violation on April 28, which involved failure to register a Snapchat account. The incident is under investigation," the Sentinel reported, adding a statement from the sheriff, saying, "that no official reports regarding the allegations discussed in the meeting were received by the Sheriff's Office, but the situation was under investigation."
"Sex offenders are allowed to watch their child at games, but they can't loiter afterward," Harnen said. "We're looking into the allegations of him [Farmer] working in the concessions."
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