AMERICAN CANYON — Addressing a crowd of parents and students, Superintendent Rosanna Mucetti of the Napa Valley Unified School District announced the firing of the teacher and track coach arrested last week on 21 felony sexual abuse charges involving a student at the city's high school.
Mucetti was joined by American Canyon's police chief, the county's top prosecutor and others at the Wednesday night meeting at American Canyon High School. She said officials would also work with a state commission to revoke Brad Rowell's teaching credential.
“I can confidently stand up here and say we will proceed with the dismissal of Mr. Rowell,” Mucetti said.
Mucetti emphasized her commitment to being transparent about the case, though clarified that what she could share was limited.
“I want to stand here as the superintendent and assure you we do prioritize safety," she told audience members. "We have systems, policies and processes designed to prevent a tragedy like this one. It is clear our system has failed us, and we have to take responsibility.”
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Mucetti said school staff heard rumors about the alleged abuse, some of which she said took place on campus in the weight room and janitorial closet, a few days before the 41-year-old Rowell was first arrested April 9.
The superintendent went on to say the school district is investigating whether or not policies regarding mandated reporting of sexual abuse were followed.
American Canyon Chief of Police Rick Greenberg, taking the microphone from Mucetti, assured parents that after a student resource officer who was informed of the abuse reported it to American Canyon Police, Rowell was arrested within 24 hours.
“My top priority is a safe education for the children,” Greenberg said.
(After his original arrest on campus April 9, Rowell was released that night after posting $100,000 bail. He was arrested again three days later near his Sonoma home on additional sex abuse allegations.)
Greenberg addressed additional concerns, denying rumors about students being detained in handcuffs.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley then gave an update on the criminal case against Rowell. Haley said she has experience working with sexual abuse survivors and that it is like nothing else.
“There is nothing like sexual abuse. It destroys everything in its path," she told the audience. "I’ve talked to families that have said to me it feels like grief because you thought you know one thing, but the other turns out to be true.”
Haley said her job is to protect the integrity of the case in order to win it, and as a result was unable to share many details.
Rowell pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Napa County Superior Court to 21 felony counts, including six counts of unlawful intercourse and 12 counts of lewd acts with a minor. A judge granted him $250,000 bail over prosecutors' objections.
Rowell, who remained in custody at the Napa County jail on Thursday, also is charged with possessing sexually explicit materials featuring a minor and faces special allegations of targeting a vulnerable victim and abusing a position of trust. Prosecutors said nude photographs of the accuser, who said she was 15 when the abuse began last July, were uploaded to the instant messaging and social media platform Discord.
A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for May 16 to determine whether the case against Rowell will go to trial. In the meantime, Haley said, her office is prepared to file more charges if additional information comes to light.
Mucetti, leading most of the Wednesday meeting, promised school parents that the district’s three focuses are to cooperate with law enforcement, conduct its own investigation and stabilize the American Canyon High community.
NVUSD will support American Canyon High through partnerships in the community, she said. Presentations on sexual exploitation of youth will be given to staff and students in collaboration with the district attorney's office. The district will also work with NEWS, a Napa-based nonprofit assisting survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence, to give voluntary courses on healthy relationships for students on-campus over the next few weeks.
Mucetti also said that Principal Andrew Goff has been placed on leave, and that Mike Pearson, NVUSD's assistant superintendent of operational services, will serve in that role on an interim basis.
The superintendent, who called Goff a "committed educator" said this was not done in response to any specific concern, but to ensure the smooth running of the school while the investigation is ongoing. She said there is no timeline for his return.
Mucetti told the town hall audience the Napa school system will adopt stricter hiring rules in response to Rowell's arrest. She added, however, that preventing abuse will be a community effort because some predators wait to assume a position of power before acting.
After the presentation, parents and a handful of students stepped up to the microphone to bring their questions to district leaders.
Many parents appeared satisfied with the district’s presentation, but did ask how students can avoid blaming themselves in such situations, why more wasn't done to conceal the teenager, what is being done to support the survivor, how such abuse could happen on campus, and how to manage rumors. (The Napa Valley Register does not normally disclose the names of people who say they were sexually abused.)
Jay Johnson, the father of an American Canyon senior, asked officials why Rowell was first arrested on campus during the school day and what is being done to support students psychologically. His son witnessed the arrest.
“He didn’t really want to come back to school. I had to coach him into going back, two months before graduation,” Johnson said.
Police chief Greenberg explained that based on facts law enforcement was unable to share, detaining Rowell on school grounds was the best course of action.
Rowell was first arrested April 9 on campus after the female student, who is now 16, told a school resource officer about the abuse, which involved intercourse and oral sex, that began in July 2023 and ended earlier this month. Mucetti of NVUSD responded that law enforcement assessed the circumstances and decided arresting Rowell at school was the best course of action.
Rowell taught physical education at American Canyon High for a decade. According to past Register reporting, Rowell became the Wolves' track and field coach in 2014 and later went on to coach the cross country team.
Mucetti also said support services will remain on campus for the foreseeable future because sometimes students don’t often feel comfortable coming to them right away.
A student who knew Rowell shared her thoughts Wednesday. Hannah Wildes, a junior who runs cross country, thanked many of her teachers for the support they’ve offered her since the arrest.
“It’s been really rough. It was someone we really trusted," said Wildes. "In cross country, we all wear short shorts, T-shirts and sports bras. I’d been running with him for three years. It was like a trust was broken.”
Wildes went on to say that it’s been hard knowing Rowell's actions affected someone she really cares for.
“We hate to think about someone we trust doing something bad to someone we love,” she said.
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