Pair to pay $620 each in hazing case

Former Huntsville coach, leader plead no contest

HUNTSVILLE — Former Huntsville school Superintendent Audra Kimball and junior high school basketball coach Kaleb Houston each pleaded “no contest” on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge of “recklessly” — but not “knowingly” — failing to notify the Arkansas Child Abuse Hotline when they heard about suspected child maltreatment.

Each defendant was charged in Madison County District Court in October with a single count of “Failure to notify by a mandated reporter in the first degree,” a Class A misdemeanor under Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-18-201.

In plea agreements with Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brent Bryant, both defendants pleaded no contest to “Failure to notify by a mandated reporter in the second degree,” a Class C misdemeanor under Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-18-202.

Each defendant will pay fines and court costs of $620, according to orders signed Thursday by District Judge Dale Ramsey. The amount includes a $500 fine, according to a letter in the court file from one an attorney in the case.

According to state law, a person commits the offense of failure to notify by a mandated reporter in the first degree if he or she has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to child maltreatment and “knowingly” fails to notify the Child Abuse Hotline.

A person commits the offense of failure to notify by a mandated reporter in the second degree if he or she has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to child maltreatment and “recklessly” fails to notify the Child Abuse Hotline.

A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by a sentence of not more than one year in jail. For a Class C misdemeanor, the punishment can’t exceed 30 days in jail.

Neither Kimball nor Houston was sentenced to serve any jail time.

Both have resigned from their jobs with the Huntsville School District.

The accusations involve players on the Huntsville junior high basketball team, and the failure of Kimball and Houston to immediately report the accusations to the Child Abuse Hotline. Kimball’s failure to notify occurred around Feb. 9, 2021, according to court filings.

According to a “Title IX Sexual Harassment Determination of Responsibility” report completed after the School District’s internal investigation, the accused players had placed their “genitals in the faces” of several eighth- and ninth-grade boys who were being restrained by other boys in the locker room after games. The practice — called “baptism” — occurred several times during the basketball season, as well as the previous year, according to the report.

Two boys admitted to “baptizing” other players, according to the report. Other boys were cited in the report as helping restrain the victims while they were being “baptized.” Because they are underage and students, none of the boys’ names were used in the report.

A federal lawsuit against the Huntsville School District included information about “bean-dipping,” another activity alleged to be taking place in the locker rooms.

“‘Baptism,’ as the term is used in this Complaint, refers to the placing of one’s genitals on the face and/or in the mouth of another student,” according to the federal court filing. “‘Bean-dipping,’ as the term is used in this Complaint, refers to placing a student’s rectum and anus on the face and particularly the nose of another student.”