Lyn Vijayendran, principal at School: O.B. Whaley Elementary School [Evergreen School District], San Jose, California, charged with failing to report alleged molestation LinkedIn: Lyn Vijkayendran San Francisco Chronicle: Principal charged for not reporting alleged molest (July 10 2012) An elementary school principal in San Jose has been charged with a misdemeanor for not telling authorities that one of her teachers might have been molesting a second-grade student. The charge was filed Tuesday against Lyn Vijayendran of O.B. Whaley Elementary School by the Santa Clara County district attorney's office. It comes six months after the arrest of teacher Craig Chandler, who faces felony charges for lewd and lascivious acts on five students at the school.One alleged victim and her mother went to Vijayendran in October with complaints about Chandler, according to Deputy District Attorney Alison Filo. They later showed the principal a jacket that had what the district attorney's office referred to as "a suspicious stain," but the mother washed the jacket after Vijayendran told her the stain was unimportant....Chandler, 35, came to the attention of authorities in January when the parent of another child complained about him to school officials while Vijayendran was on maternity leave. He was arrested within a day. To date, five children have presented allegations against Chandler, who is in custody and awaiting trial. Google News Alerts (July 10 2012): DA: San Jose principal charged with failing to report abuse allegation Santa Cruz Sentinel By Mark Gomez A San Jose elementary school principal is facing a charge she failed ... Craig Chandler was engaged in inappropriate conduct with a student. DA: San Jose principal charged with failing to report abuse allegation San Jose Mercury News A San Jose elementary school principal is facing a charge she failed to report to ... Craig Chandler was engaged in inappropriate conduct with a student. DA: San Jose principal charged with failing to report abuse allegation Oakland Tribune By Mark Gomez mgomez@mercurynews.com A San Jose elementary school principal ... teacher Craig Chandler was engaged in inappropriate conduct with a student. Tags:
Google News Alerts (July 11 2012): San Jose principal charged for not reporting alleged child ... Examiner.com But San Jose police investigators learned that four other girls are believed to have been molested by teacher Craig Chandler. DA charges San Jose principal with failing to report abuse allegation Contra Costa Times ... the principal at OB Whaley Elementary School in San Jose. ... October about concerns teacher Craig Chandler was behaving inappropriately with a student. Principal Charged With Failing to Report Alleged Molestation Patch.com Prosecutors say San Jose principal failed to notify authorities that teacher Craig Chandler was allegedly sexually abusing an elementary school student in a classroom. ... California law states that a mandated reporter must make a report to police ...
Google News Alerts (Oct 31 2012): San Jose: Trial starts Wednesday for principal accused of failing to report ... San Jose Mercury News California has the longest list in the nation of people required to report suspected child abuse -- from teachers to dog catchers. ... Exactly who must report what to authorities will be the subject of a misdemeanor trial set to open Wednesday of a ... San Jose: Trial starts Wednesday for principal accused of failing ... Marin Independent-Journal By Sharon Noguchi California has the longest list in the nation of people ... Teacher Craig Chandler, the parent reported, had blindfolded her daughter ... Trial for SJ principal accused of not reporting molesting teacher ... KTVU San Francisco ... Elementary School in San Jose, is charged with failing to report a teacher who may have molested a student one year ago. That teacher, Craig Chandler, ... Trial begins for San Jose principal accused of failing to report ... San Jose Mercury News SAN JOSE -- An 8-year-old San Jose girl and her mother show up at the ... The principal should have realized that teacher Craig Chandler may have sexually ... Trial begins for San Jose principal accused of failing to report ... Santa Cruz Sentinel By Tracey Kaplan SAN JOSE -- An 8-year-old San Jose girl and her mother show up ... The principal should have realized that teacher Craig Chandler may have ...
Google News Alerts (Nov 2 2012): At times tearful, San Jose principal testifies in her own defense San Jose Mercury News At times tearing up, the former San Jose elementary school principal on trial ... why she accepted teacher Craig Chandler's explanation for his disturbing ... Calif. principal takes stand in sex abuse case Monterey County Herald AP SAN JOSE, Calif.—The California principal accused of failing to report the ... testified at her trial on Thursday that teacher Craig Chandler appeared ... SJ principal takes stand in sex abuse case KTVU San Francisco Lyn Vijayendran, the former principal of San Jose's OB Whaley Elementary School, testified at her trial on Thursday that teacher Craig Chandler appeared ... Deliberations Begin In Trial Of SJ Principal Accused Of Not ... CBS Local 35-year-old Craig Chandler, a teacher at OB Whaley Elementary School in San Jose, is accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child. (San Jose Police ... Calif principal testifies at teacher's abuse trial Huffington Post November 2, 2012 04:19 PM EST | AP SAN JOSE, Calif. ... The teacher, 35-year-old Craig Chandler, was arrested in January and has been charged with five ... Calif principal testifies at teacher's abuse trial KSRO SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A former California principal accused of failing to ... The teacher, 35-year-old Craig Chandler, was arrested in January and has ... Calif. principal takes stand in sex abuse case San Francisco Chronicle Lyn Vijayendran, the former principal of San Jose's O.B. Whaley Elementary School, testified at her trial on Thursday that teacher Craig Chandler appeared forthright when he told her an incident during which he allegedly blindfolded a second-grade girl ...
9 & 10 News: Calif principal testifies at teacher's abuse trial (Nov 2 2012) A former California principal accused of failing to report the suspected sexual abuse of a young student at her school tearfully told jurors that she believed a teacher when he told her the reason he had blindfolded the girl and put something in her mouth was to teach her about Helen Keller. Lyn Vijayendran, onetime principal of San Jose's O.B. Whaley Elementary School, testified Thursday that the second-grade teacher appeared forthright and "looked me right in the eye" when he explained that what had happened was part of a classroom lesson....Vijayendran told jurors that Chandler's interview with her was very persuasive, and that he told her his "instructional goal" was to deprive participating students of sight. Chandler said he used a bath sponge on the student's foot and legs and put a bottle containing salty water in her mouth. Chandler also said his classroom door was open, though the student said it was closed, Vijayendran said. "He said students learned better by doing," she said. "He was very convincing." Vijayendran also testified she was convinced the student's demeanor was completely out of character for someone who had been molested. She had a big smile on her face," Vijayendran said. "She was her normal self, very talkative, the same as if she was talking about what she'd perform at the talent show." Vijayendran also said that during an interview, the girl and her mother didn't contend that the incident was sexual in nature - only that it was strange...During her cross-examination, Vijayendran admitted she was worried before speaking to Chandler about the sexually suggestive aspects of his behavior toward the girl. Among other concerns, the child reported the teacher told her to "open her two legs." WIS TV: Calif principal testifies at teacher's abuse trial (Nov 2 2012)
NBC Bay Area: Jury Deliberates Over San Jose Principal Charged With Failure To Report (Nov 2 2012) The jury began deliberating the fate of Lyn Vijayendran, the former principal at O.B. Whaley Elementary School, early Friday afternoon. They went home for the weekend just after 5 p.m. without reaching a verdict and will be back it Monday morning. The group met with the judge before heading out. Four of them said they needed more time; the other eight said they had made their decision.
Good article, lots of discussion about the evidence & closing arguements, in addition to what I've quoted below. Mercury News: Jury in former San Jose principal's case stalls after less than six hours, ordered to return Monday (Nov 2 2012) Jurors announced they were having difficulty Friday in reaching a verdict in the trial of a former San Jose principal charged with failing to report suspected child sex abuse, prompting the judge to instruct them to keep trying on Monday. The jury foreman told Judge Deborah Ryan they were split 8-4 after deliberating for about 51/2 hours. It is against the law for the panel to divulge the nature of the split -- whether the majority supports a misdemeanor conviction or an acquittal of former O.B. Whaley Elementary school principal Lyn Vijayendran, 36. But the foreman said all the jurors agreed that the principal had the best intentions. And another juror asked a question that included her feeling that the principal had gotten bad advice from the director of human resources and was misled by the teacher.
UK Daily Mail: Principal of teacher who 'molested girls blindfolded like Helen Keller' testifies of students disturbing and unreported claims (Nov 3 2012) Directing an eight-year-old girl to lay on the classroom floor while she felt something she described as a tongue touch her feet, the student's claims grew more and more horrific. he told police she had something gooey inserted in her mouth and was instructed to wiggle her head around until tasting a salty liquid in her mouth. This all happened, the girl said, when alone with Chandler and their classroom door was closed.They are claims the 35-year-old teacher, since arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts on five children, denies. 'It was my job to keep those kids safe,' the former principal said. 'But on that day, I did what I thought was right,' she said of her siding with Chandler's lesson plan. 'He was very forthright,' she said of his claimed innocence. 'He looked me right in the eye.' One of the girls Vijayendran said she also confronted amid the claims also appeared 'normal' after her time with him.
Mercury News: Mercury News editorial: Sexual abuse in schools cries out for remedies (Nov 6 2012) Former O.B. Whaley Elementary School Principal Lyn Vijayendran was distraught on the witness stand last week ... The outrageous nature of the Vijayendran case in San Jose's Evergreen School District prompted the Santa Clara County district attorney's office to prosecute her, and on Monday a jury convicted her of failing to report Chandler.
KTVU: Principal found guilty for failure to report sexual abuse (Nov 5 2012) A California jury convicted a tearful former San Jose principal on Monday of failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a child by a teacher, but the judge's sentencing in the trial will keep the woman from serving any jail time ... Santa Clara County Judge Deborah Ryan did not sentence Vijayendran to any jail time, instead giving her two years of probation, $602 in fines and 100 hours of community service helping teach other school officials understand mandatory reporting.
Daily News: San Jose: Principal convicted of failing to report suspected child abuse by teacher (Nov 5 2012) In a verdict hailed by child-abuse experts, a jury Monday found a principal guilty of the extremely rare charge of failing to report suspected sexual abuse to authorities, despite being told by an 8-year-old girl in vivid and explicit detail about a possible sexual act a teacher performed on her. The conviction of former O.B. Whaley Elementary School principal Lyn Vijayendran was only the second time in two decades that Santa Clara County prosecutors had brought such a misdemeanor charge -- and the first time they'd won.
Huffington Post: Lyn Vijayendran Convicted: Former Principal Guilty Of Failing To Report Abuse (Nov 6 2012) The conviction of a former California principal for failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a child by a teacher marked just the second time in two decades that Santa Clara County prosecutors had pursued the misdemeanor charge – and it was the first time they won, officials said. After deliberating for two days, a jury on Monday found Lyn Vijayendran, 36, guilty of the crime. "I agree with the jury's verdict," Santa Clara County Judge Deborah Ryan told a tearful Vijayendran. "You did what you thought was right, but I don't think it was objectively reasonable at the time ..."
Examiner: Principal found guilty after failing to report sexual abuse in California (Nov 6 2012) A principal found guilty after failing to report suspected sexual abuse will not serve jail time for the crime. Lyn Vijayendran, a 36-year-old former principal O.B. Whaley Elementary School in San Jose was convicted on a misdemeanor charge. A jury spent just two days deliberating before making their decision on Mon., Nov. 5, 2012. Vijayendran will serve two years of probation and 100 hours of community service and pay just $602 in fines after neglecting to report suspected sexual abuse of a child by a teacher at the school where she worked.
CBS News: Principal guilty of not reporting suspected child sex abuse by teacher (Nov 7 2012) A jury on Monday found Lyn Vijayendran, onetime administrator at the O.B. Whaley Elementary School in San Jose, guilty of the misdemeanor charge. It's only the second time in two decades that Santa Clara County prosecutors had pursued a failure to report sex abuse case, and the first time they won, officials said. A judge sentenced Vijayendran, 36, to two years of probation, $602 in fines and 100 hours of community service, which likely will involve training other educators in the proper reporting of suspected child abuse ...
Associated Press: Calif. principal guilty of failing to report abuse (Nov 6 2012) The conviction of a former California principal for failing to report suspected sexual abuse of a child by a teacher marked just the second time in two decades that Santa Clara County prosecutors had pursued the misdemeanor charge — and it was the first time they won, officials said. After deliberating for two days, a jury on Monday found Lyn Vijayendran, 36, guilty of the crime. A judge sentenced the former principal of O.B. Whaley Elementary School in San Jose to two years of probation, $602 in fines and 100 hours of community service, which likely will involve training other educators in the proper reporting of suspected child abuse ...
