Police: Brentwood Academy, Daystar leaders not part of criminal investigation

The criminal investigation of sexual abuse allegations in a civil lawsuit against Brentwood Academy does not include school administrators or counselors, authorities have confirmed.

A civil lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges the school and a counselor refused to report to authorities allegations the boy was raped multiple times in the private Christian school's locker room when he was 12.

Tennessee law says adults have a duty to report child abuse to police or the Department of Children's Services, and if they don't, it can be a misdemeanor criminal offense.

But the scope of the Brentwood Police Department investigation does not extend to whether the educational institution and the counselor followed that mandate.

"Although I can’t comment on the focus of the investigation I can tell you that we are not investigating Brentwood Academy or any of the staff," Brentwood police Assistant Chief Thomas Walsh said in an email.

He also said police were not investigating staff at Daystar Counseling, where the boy received counseling. The lawsuit says counselor Chris Roberts knew about the assault but did not initially report it to authorities saying "this isn't how Christian institutions handle these things." Roberts and Daystar are not defendants in the lawsuit.

► Brentwood Academy lawsuit: What we know now

Police previously confirmed that, based on a Department of Children's Services referral, they began investigating the rape allegation in April 2015. Emails obtained by The Tennessean say a police detective told the boy's mother in March 2016 he would take the case to prosecutors that month, though the police investigation remains ongoing.

The civil lawsuit alleges that during the 2014-15 school year the boy, then a sixth-grade student, was assaulted by an eighth-grade boy while other students held him down or blocked doors to the locker room.

In the lawsuit and a police document, the boy says he was held down while another boy put his penis on his face and in his mouth. When the family went to the school's headmaster, Masters, he told the boy to “turn the other cheek," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit alleges other parents reported to school administrators that the eighth-graders were bullies, and the school's Board of Trustees knew about the atmosphere of harassment at the school.

Brentwood Academy spokeswoman Susan Shafer in a Wednesday email reiterated earlier statements the school was not notified of the rape allegation in 2015.

“Anyone who knows BA, (headmaster) Curt Masters or any of the defendants knows that if they were notified of allegations of this kind, they would have immediately contacted the Brentwood Police Department and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services," she said.

"We want to be clear: At no time before or during investigations of misconduct that were conducted by Brentwood Academy was the school aware of any accusations of rape.”

Daystar also said in a Wednesday statement it "correctly reported this incident to DCS according to the requirements of the law and on time" and turned over its records to police.

► Lawsuit: Brentwood Academy officials refused to report repeated rapes of 12-year-old boy

► Document shows police knew extent of Brentwood Academy assault allegations in 2015

► Email: Detective told family in 2016 he would present Brentwood Academy case to prosecutor

Even though police are not investigating school officials for failing to report the abuse, the claims in the civil lawsuit are still viable, according to Larry Crain, a Brentwood lawyer who specializes in civil law and represents students in bullying lawsuits.

"There are many other competing factors that go into a determination of whether to lodge a criminal case or not," he said, noting that more or better evidence is often needed in criminal cases, as compared to a civil lawsuit.

"That doesn’t mean there isn’t a viable civil case."

The key is whether the boy and his mother can prove what the school administrators knew and when they knew it, he said.

According to Tennessee law, any adult with reasonable cause to believe a child is being abused or neglected must immediately report it to the Department of Children's Services or local law enforcement, according to state law. Failing to do so can be a misdemeanor crime.

The law does not require a person to investigate or prove suspected child abuse, according to Kristen Rector, CEO of Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee, who said the law removes an onus on children to protect themselves.

“As mandated reporters, we’re all required to report suspected abuse of a child in any form,” Rector said. “We have to be responsible for protecting the children in our lives.”

► In strong rebuke, Brentwood Academy headmaster denies school failed to respond to rape report

► How a private counseling service is entwined in the Brentwood Academy lawsuit

► Police, child services investigate allegations related to Brentwood Academy reported assaults

Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968 or sbarchenger@tennesean.com and on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Elaina Sauber at esauber@tennessean.com or 615-571-1172 and on Twitter @ElainaSauber.