Surprise police investigate video of possible assault on teacher, allegation of pedophilia

The Republic | azcentral.com

A Dysart Unified School District teacher was placed on leave in February and resigned last month amid allegations of inappropriate contact with students and questions about whether he had been physically assaulted by students.

The district referred the allegations to Surprise police, who say they are investigating.

The teacher was placed on leave the day after a Snapchat video emerged appearing to show a group of teens beating a man they alleged was a "pedophile."

Nearly two months later, the Surprise Police Department says it still has little information about what actually happened.

"We don’t know specifics at this point, primarily because no one is talking with us," Sgt. Tim Klarkowski, a Surprise police spokesman, told The Arizona Republic on Monday.

There have been no arrests and no charges. Police have not released documents requested by The Republic.

Disturbing video shows plans to set up and 'beat' a 'pedophile'

A video posted to Snapchat Feb. 22 shows a group of people appearing to assault another person, although the video is so dark it is hard to tell if an assault occurred.

The video, which The Republic viewed but is not publishing because it may show minors or victims of a crime, is in two parts.

One part shows what appears to be teen boys laughing and talking about plans to set up and "beat" a "pedophile." Another part appears to be at night, too dark to make out what's happening, but a voice can be heard saying, "Don't hurt him too bad" and "Get him out of here," amid sounds of kicks or punches.

Police said they can't confirm who was involved, what happened or even where the possible assault occurred.

Klarkowski said police are investigating eight people who may have been directly involved in the incident, but that "anybody who was either the victim of a crime or involved directly in any of the crimes has been uncooperative."

"It may involve juveniles, it may not. It’s been hard to tell. No one has come forward and said, ‘Yes, I was a victim,' " he said. Police can't confirm anyone was injured.

"There’s been some rumors somebody was hospitalized. As far as we know, that is not true," Klarkowski said.

Dysart Unified School District involved

The video has circulated among Surprise teens and adults, sparking rumors about what happened before and after the video was taken.

In the days after the video emerged, students in the Dysart Unified School District and posts on social media alleged the male assault victim was a Dysart Unified teacher.

Records show that Dysart Unified followed all protocol promptly.

"When school officials were made aware of a potential situation, they immediately notified the Surprise Police Department and the Arizona Department of Education. The individual in question was placed on administrative leave. As this is an ongoing law-enforcement investigation, we have to defer to the Surprise Police Department," Dysart Unified spokesman Zachery Fountain told The Republic on Monday.

The teacher in question's personnel report includes records from Feb. 23 stating he was "alleged to have been involved with (students) sexually in nature. Tcher (sic) was assaulted by (students)" and "student brought forth allegations that teacher is a pedophile." He was placed on leave that day.

The Republic is not naming the teacher because he has not been charged with a crime and police have not named him as a suspect in any investigation.

Klarkowski said the investigation has been taking so long because police have been gathering and sorting through digital evidence.

Although police can't confirm a location for the incident, Klarkowski said they believe it happened close to the Surprise city limits, near the city's border with unincorporated Maricopa County.

Police said anyone with information about the incident can call the Surprise Police Department at 623-222-TIPS (8477) or email crimetips@surpriseaz.gov and reference incident number 180205254.

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