Perry ex-principal gets probation over abuse case
PERRY — A former elementary school principal was put on five-years probation Thursday for failing to report misconduct by a teacher’s aide.
Kenda Miller, 51, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of failure to promptly report child abuse or neglect after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors. She resigned in June 2017 from Upper Elementary, where the aide molested girls.
Asked by the judge what she did wrong, Miller said she did not report immediately.
The former aide, Arnold Cowen, 86, pleaded guilty last month to molesting 10 girls at Upper Elementary School and received a 10-year prison sentence.
Several parents Thursday read statements to the judge on behalf of their children. One said Miller “took the side of a child molester and someone who had pictures and videos of children being forced to do bad things.”
“I told you about what Mr. Cowen did to me, and you didn’t believe me. You didn’t believe any of us,” the parent said.
Noble County District Attorney Brian Hermanson said Miller was required to report sexual abuse but “chose not to call” the Department of Human Services when “numerous girls told her they were being touched by Mr. Cowen.”
“The fact that she chose not to call the Hotline and instead send the children back into the classroom with Mr. Cowen is unimaginable,” Hermanson said.
Miller received the type of probation known as a deferred sentence, which means she will not have a conviction on her record if she doesn’t break any laws for five years.
Jeffrey Sullins, a former teacher at the school, also is accused of failing to promptly report accusations against Cowen and faces similar charges.
The parents of 16 girls are suing Perry school officials for damages. A federal lawsuit filed in December accuses Perry Public Schools and the Board of Education of showing “deliberate indifference” by failing to remove or report the aide after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
Miller is accused in the lawsuit of instructing girls who came forward not to report Cowen’s misconduct, telling one she shouldn’t do so because “it could get people in trouble.”
The principal told girls to “fist bump” Cowen instead of “hugging” him, and told one of the plaintiffs, known as Jane Doe 6, that Cowen’s touching “was just an accident,” the lawsuit states.
In a police interview, Miller characterized Cowen “to be of great moral character.”
Attorney Cameron Spradling, who represents the victims, said Perry school officials ignored the children who identified Cowen as their molester.
“It’s a disgrace that a woman in power did not protect these little girls,” he said Thursday.