IOWA CITY (AP) — Prosecutors charged the director of an Iowa City neighborhood center with failing to report allegations of child sexual abuse by a teacher she oversees — a charge that had been rarely, if ever, used, a state official said.
Sue Freeman-Murdah, 44, director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center, is accused of not reporting allegations by a mother who suspected her daughter had been abused.
Freeman-Murdah was arrested Wednesday on the simple misdemeanor charge and released on $500 bond. She pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance Thursday, and her trial was set for March 22.
"If it's not the first time, it's the first time in many years," Roger Munns, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services, said of prosecutors' use of the charge.
Freeman-Murdah declined to comment after her appearance.
Because of her position at the center, Freeman-Murdah is considered a mandatory reporter and is required by law to report allegations of child abuse. Iowa law requires that health professionals, social workers, school employees, police officers, mental health professionals and employees of a DHS institution report allegations of abuse to a child younger than 12.
According to a criminal complaint from Iowa City police, the lead Head Start teacher told Freeman-Murdah that the mother of a child enrolled in the program thought her daughter was the victim of a sexual assault allegedly by a teacher in the Head Start classroom. The teacher is not identified in the complaint.
The mother met with Freeman-Murdah and told her she thought the teacher had inappropriately touched her daughter, police said. The mother also observed injuries to her daughter.
Police said Freeman-Murdah conducted an investigation and did not contact police or the state agency.
Police Sgt. Denise Brotherton said police learned about the allegations from the mother Dec. 21, and police then contacted the state agency.
Brian Loring, executive director of the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, said in a statement Thursday that no evidence of child abuse was discovered.
"We want the community to know that the Department of Human Services investigated and found no evidence of child abuse. We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Department of Human Services and will continue to do so," he said.
Brotherton said the child abuse allegations remain under investigation.
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