090806 Principal ignored parent's warnings, mother's concerns
By CAROLINE C. SHERWIN
& R.J. MARX
Bedford police arrested Bedford Hills Elementary School principal Victoria Graboski on the morning of Friday, Sept. 1. Ms. Graboski was charged with failure to report a suspected case of child abuse/maltreatment, a violation of Social Services Law According to the misdemeanor complaint against Ms. Graboski, on or about Dec. 21, 2005, the principal is alleged to have received information from a parent of a student at the elementary school of suspected child abuse.
"At the time the investigation was initiated, Ms. Graboski was the principal of the elementary school," said Lt. Ed Collins of the Bedford police. "An allegation of a failure to report suspected child abuse had been brought to the attention of the Bedford police."
The arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of a 9-year-old Bedford Hills girl by Cesar Joel Sagustume-Morales. Police are still searching for
Mr. Morales on charges of sexual conduct against a child, a class B felony.
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, Ms. Graboski was put on paid administrative leave. In addition, two teachers, Jennifer Conte, an ESL teacher, and Regina Smith, an elementary consulting teacher, had their tenure rescinded
and their probation periods extend-ed. On Thursday, Aug. 31, three other school employees were placed on administrative leave. They have not yet been publicly named.
According to the misdemeanor complaint against Ms. Graboski, the principal was a school official and a
mandated reporter
pursuant to Social Services Law. As such, in the course of her duties at
the school, she had "reasonable cause to suspect that a student in
her school" was an abused child. The complaint states that Ms.
Graboski received information from a parent of a student at
The
complaint states that Ms. Graboski had information at the time that the
mother of the victim had reported to the school "that her daughter
was sad and acting differently at home. The defendant, in receipt of
this information, willfully failed to call the New York State Central
Register to report this information, did not contact law enforcement,
and conducted her own investigation with school personnel."
The
criminal charges against Ms. Graboski are a result of a joint investigation
involving the
"We
are doing our investigation, we are moving along slowly and diligently,
and things are far from concluded," said Mr. Sacks yesterday. "We're
on top of this, we're doing our
job, and we certainly understand all of the dynamics and care very deeply
of course about the family and our teachers."
In
a statement sent to parents last week, Mr. Sacks said that the alleged
abuse did not take place on school district grounds or during school district
hours.
He added that the
arrest is one step the
district attorney's office has taken in this matter. "It would be inappropriate to comment further
while this matter is under investigation," he said. "When the
school district is given permission by police and the district attorney's
office to make more information public, it will be done immediately"
Ms.
Graboski has been relieved of all her duties as principal of
"The
events of this case are very unsettling and troubling to us
all," Mr. Sacks said. "The safety and security of the children
in our school district is our most critical priority.
said Mr. Sacks
yesterday. "He's just a great guy."