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UTICA Three former Thomas R. Proctor High School students have been placed in alternative education, and one faces a felony criminal charge, following a November sexual incident in the mens bathroom, school and police officials said.
Sirdell L. Ruffin, 19, of Utica, was charged Monday with digitally recording a juvenile female student performing a sexual act on a male juvenile student, according to the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center. The incident happened in school, during school hours, police said.
Ruffin was charged with possession of a sexual performance by a child. He is in Oneida County Jail with bail set at $5,000 cash or bond, jail officials said Monday night.
Immediately following the incident, the Child Advocacy Center was notified, and the three students were suspended for five days, pending a superintendents hearing, District Superintendent Marilyn Skermont said.
The hearing found those students should not be at the high school, and they were put into alternative school, she said. They violated the code of conduct and it was under zero tolerance in our code.
Citing safety reasons, Skermont would not say where those students have been placed, but did confirm it is in Utica. She said she was unsure of the exact date they were placed in alternative education.
Ruffins charge stems from several months of investigation, according to Investigator Ed DAlessandro of the Rome Police Department, who is assigned to the Child Advocacy Center.
Basically what happened was security at Proctor who are off-duty police got a hold of this video recording and they called us, DAlessandro said.
All parties involved were interviewed, leading to Ruffins arrest, he said.
The other two were not charged, police said.
DAlessandro said he believes the three students involved in the incident are familiar with each other, but was unsure of the extent of their relationships, he said.
It appears one of the juveniles involved knew they were being recorded, DAlessandro said. He would not specify if it was the male or female.
Incidents like this are not common in Utica schools, he said.
I wouldnt say it happens often at any of the schools since Ive been involved there, he said.
Kevin Revere, law enforcement coordinator for the advocacy center, said there was no force involved with either the recording or the sexual incident.
Revere said security personnel at Proctor was instrumental in resolving the issue, and its difficult to monitor every student in a school that size.
If students are going to choose to engage in this type of behavior its going to be impossible to prevent these incidents from happening, he said.
School security continues to monitor all areas of the building, Skermont said.
We try to keep a watch on all the corridors and the bathroom, and thats been something we always try to do, she said.
Additional staff has been monitoring hallways and school areas, but thats not completely due to the incident, Skermont said.
Skermont said school officials will continue to work with police to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the future.
The case has been forwarded to the countys District Attorneys office for grand jury action.
Ruffin is due back in Utica City Court Tuesday. A time was not available Monday night.
http://www.uticaod.com/education/schools/x1151545200
Sirdell L. Ruffin, 19, of Utica, was charged Monday with digitally recording a juvenile female student performing a sexual act on a male juvenile student, according to the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center. The incident happened in school, during school hours, police said.
Ruffin was charged with possession of a sexual performance by a child. He is in Oneida County Jail with bail set at $5,000 cash or bond, jail officials said Monday night.
Immediately following the incident, the Child Advocacy Center was notified, and the three students were suspended for five days, pending a superintendents hearing, District Superintendent Marilyn Skermont said.
The hearing found those students should not be at the high school, and they were put into alternative school, she said. They violated the code of conduct and it was under zero tolerance in our code.
Citing safety reasons, Skermont would not say where those students have been placed, but did confirm it is in Utica. She said she was unsure of the exact date they were placed in alternative education.
Ruffins charge stems from several months of investigation, according to Investigator Ed DAlessandro of the Rome Police Department, who is assigned to the Child Advocacy Center.
Basically what happened was security at Proctor who are off-duty police got a hold of this video recording and they called us, DAlessandro said.
All parties involved were interviewed, leading to Ruffins arrest, he said.
The other two were not charged, police said.
DAlessandro said he believes the three students involved in the incident are familiar with each other, but was unsure of the extent of their relationships, he said.
It appears one of the juveniles involved knew they were being recorded, DAlessandro said. He would not specify if it was the male or female.
Incidents like this are not common in Utica schools, he said.
I wouldnt say it happens often at any of the schools since Ive been involved there, he said.
Kevin Revere, law enforcement coordinator for the advocacy center, said there was no force involved with either the recording or the sexual incident.
Revere said security personnel at Proctor was instrumental in resolving the issue, and its difficult to monitor every student in a school that size.
If students are going to choose to engage in this type of behavior its going to be impossible to prevent these incidents from happening, he said.
School security continues to monitor all areas of the building, Skermont said.
We try to keep a watch on all the corridors and the bathroom, and thats been something we always try to do, she said.
Additional staff has been monitoring hallways and school areas, but thats not completely due to the incident, Skermont said.
Skermont said school officials will continue to work with police to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the future.
The case has been forwarded to the countys District Attorneys office for grand jury action.
Ruffin is due back in Utica City Court Tuesday. A time was not available Monday night.
http://www.uticaod.com/education/schools/x1151545200
