Sussex Central Principal Goodman Arrested
May 2nd, 2008 by Dan GaffneyIt’s been a wild ride this week for Sussex Central High School Principal Dana Goodman.
First, Principal Goodman was caught making off color sexual innuendo jokes at a school assembly in front of the students, (cracks about the vice principal’s wife staying home pregnant with Goodman’s baby, and remarks about whether the Principal or Vice Principal would escort the “homely” girls to prom) Principal Goodman issue a formal apology for those jokes, and then told staffers to avoid contacting “Dan Gaffney at WGMD”
Second, this week I broke the story about how on April 21st a pool of blood, a bloody handprint and a condom wrapper was discovered in a classroom at the start of the school day. A concerned teacher alerted the office, and Principal Goodman quickly ordered the blood cleaned up before the school police officer could be notified. State Police Crpl. Bratz, the school resource officer told me didn’t understand why the principal wouldn’t have let the police see the bloody scene before clean up. Why did the principal act in such an irresponsible way? This time he ORDERED staffers not to call the Dan Gaffney Show. Read on….
Now at this hour, we hear that Principal Goodman has been arrested by the Delaware State Police. Sources tell me “it’s about 40 counts of rape”. We hear the victim was a student at the school. Officially the police have not released the charges; I’ll update you when that happens.
He has been suspended from his employment in the Indian River School District.
Eww.
UPDATE AT 6:33 PM FROM WGMD NEWS:
The charges are 30 counts of 4th degree rape, endangering the welfare f a child and continual sexual abuse of a child. 38 year old Dana Goodman, the principal at Sussex Central High School in Georgetown was arrested around noon today at school for the alleged rape of a 17-year-old female high school student. State Police say the investigation was launched when an anonymous tip was sent to the school district via a letter. State Police detectives understand the contact was consensual and began in the early part of January of this year and ended about a week ago. Police say Goodman and the student met at various locations in Sussex and Kent counties. Goodman is being held at SCI in default of $331,000 cash only bail and has been ordered to have no contact with children under the age of 18 and no contact with the Indian River School District or its employees. Anyone else who may have been victimized, should call State Police at 302-856-5850 ext 219.
May 2nd, 2008 at 4:11 pm
As a student at Sussex Central, I feel like my opinion may be slightly valued.
First of all, the caller is pretty brave to stick up for someone like Goodman who has not only given people reason to doubt his ability to run a school since he came here,
but continuously made faculty and students feel uncomfortable.
Maybe I’m being idealistic, but it seems out of line for an authority figure to text students asking for pictures of their prom dress ON their body, and even more so, to crack jokes about relations with a vice principals wife.
Excuse me for being blunt
but it’s about time he is out of here.
Maybe he should have focused more on being a respectful leader, and a good role model
instead of what length a skirt has to be or if there is a strap on the back of your shoe.
Of course, he just came here to help the school and make sure we as students could reach the potential that isn’t very highly represented by our DSTP scores. He wanted to make us all more respectable and well-educated students. According to him, we needed to “step our game up” and turn things around at Central.
Don’t get me wrong Goodman definitely reached his goal and “mixed things up”.
He’s the first to be accused of rape!
Never before have I felt uneasy in this school until now.
Never have I felt so embarrassed and ashamed to attend Sussex Central High School.
So I guess we do owe Goodman one big thank you.
Thanks for getting caught Goody,
its about time things at central go back to normal.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Reprehensible doesn’t seem strong enough a word for this slimeball’s actions.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I always knew this guy was a jerk. He was a terrible principal from the beginning. A high school that can’t afford enough books for the students to take home to do their homework. A principal that got rid of block scheduling which is similar to college. It’s a school that doesn’t even prep their students for college anymore. This guy always came off as a freak. Just goes to show you that the school board has no clue who they hire or what they bring in. This isn’t the first time they’ve had problems with a principal like this.
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I can’t believe this happened here, in my community. I want to be able to trust my principal, and my school. He had a clean record, but there must have been some way to know, there had to be some way this was preventable. this makes me want to loose my faith in humanity. If I’m not safe in an area like this, where can i be safe? I hope they castrate the perv.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Look I’m not here to bash on how bad Goodman was or anything. but this is just the most Disgusting thing a authoritative figure can do. He abused his power and he got what was coming to him
Yes it was consensual. But Goodman as the supposed responsible adult in this situation should have acted right by not talking to the girl and contacting her parents to get her help that she desperately needs. I mean OVER 30 accounts of rape of the 4th degree is just unacceptable to any standard. Even one account is wrong.
The one thing i must say.. is that if it was the girl who email the proper authorities it took alot of guts to do that and im proud. Because almost half the people who get raped never report it.
Another issue im confused on is why would he leave evidence at the crime scene? I mean he obviously knew there was blood with the wrappers and the hand prints. So why would he just LEAVE it there? This is an educated man making the dumbest mistake of his life
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:33 pm
First of all this is sick! I cannot believe that Goodman could possibly sink this low… Not that either of them should be proud of themselves. Besides the fact that the idea of student and principal being together is disgusting, it was incredibly stupid because it has only resulted in embarrassment and repricutions.
Speaking of embarrassment, this is simply the next in a long line of humiliating events that have taken place at Sussex Central this year. As a senior, I could not be more thrilled to escape this madness in a few days. It is the first time I have ever truly felt ashamed to be a part of the Knights. He has overshadowed the victories at the school with his “dirty” deeds. As a matter of fact he received an honorary state champ ring thanks to our fantastic wrestling team, and no one is giving these young men the positive attention they deserve because of this pompous jerks dispicable actions.
I am thoroughly disgusted and I wish the best to the school and the district to recover from this matter. I for one am counting down the days until graduation so that I will no longer be associated with a school known for Dana Goodman.
May 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I attend Sussex Central High School. I will be graduating on June 3rd and I am happy to say I will not have to shake a mans hand who is supposed to be a role model, yet is a sex offender to recieve my diploma. I heard rumors all day about the blood and condom but it made my day when I realized he was gone. Even if it was consented, he knows right from wrong and he chose to do wrong. He never focused on our education, he focused on if your skirt wasn’t long enough or you weren’t wearing the proper shoes. We get written up and kicked out of school for these things yet he is having sexual relations for several months with a student and he now gets the consquences for his actions. He had a beautiful wife, he was the principal of the school and he threw it all away. At first I thought everybody was just being hard on Goodman but he is truly a dirty man.
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:41 am
This GOOD man was not so good now was he im not trying to attack him personally but what he did was wrong and why the girl didn’t speak up was all in fear personally it was wrong fore him to abuse his power like this the bigger question of it all is who is going to fill his position ,why the school hasent changed their website and, what the district is going to do about our schools reputation?
May 3rd, 2008 at 10:42 am
I am a junior as Sussex central high school. I cannot even begin to express how absolutely disgusted I am by this situation. I am a 17 year old girl, and the thought of Goodman being with someone similar to me is nauseating. When he first came to our school last year it seemed like everyone hated him, however this year it was easy to see that a few students became too close with him. Kids at my school would either hate him or say things like “Goodman’s my boy” Claiming that he gave them special privileges (allowing them to leave for lunch etc…) and that they can use cuss words with him and that he would go along and talk the same way. It seemed like there were two different Goodman’s, the one who was professional, and who insisted on the idea that Sussex Central students are “the best students in the state”, and the Goodman who was just like another student trying desperately to fit in and be cool. I am having a very hard time wrapping my head around this situation. Mr. Goodman is a Hypocrite. I just don’t know how he brought himself to suspend students for kissing in the hallway, claiming that it is “Inappropriate behavior” when he was HAVING SEX with a student. He is a sick man, and I hope he gets put away for a long, long time. It is so ironic that the man who it seemed was trying so hard to improve our school, brought us down further than we have ever been. I guess he just didn’t understand the concept of boundaries.
May 3rd, 2008 at 11:47 am
What makes this story sadder for all involved is that the Indian River District office as well as some of the School Board mambers were well aware of what kind of person Mr. Goodman was and this could have been avoided. My daughter who thank god no longer attends Sussex Central as well as a teacher told me that since Mr. Goodman has been at Sussex Central that Dr. Bunting and the District office have recieved complaints from parents, students, and staff and it all has been swept under the rug. I was also told by a source at the District office that a complaint of sexual harassment charge was brought against Mr. Goodman by a former teacher and he was just told to avoid her also it was the talk of the school when Mr. Goodman was caught with last years basketball cheerleading coach and that was reported to the District office. The same source told me that a parent had looked into his past at his former school and charges of the same sort were brought against him there and when it was brought to the attention of the District Office again nothing was done. Is it not strange that since Mr. Goodman as arrived at Sussex Central many wonderful assistant Principals, teachers, and staff members have asked for transfers or just quit. I hope that the students and staff will get through this because we have great children and with graduation upon us that should be the focus and not that the board and Dr. Bunting let a rapist watch our children. To the students above dont be ashamed of being from Sussex Central because then he wins. Go Knights
( Thats right I said God in my post and Im wearing flip flops, so I know if I was a teacher or a student at Sussex Central I would be in trouble right now, but maybe Dr. Bunting and the board should spend less time on those issues and make sure the next person they hire to run our school will not sleep with staff and rape our daughters.)
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Each person on the Indian River School Board needs to be investigated. And all results posted. They all think they are above us and the rules. Any school board member that knew of this principals past needs to be fired ASAP. They are elected by us. Lets clean house, our children are worth it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 4:44 pm
TIME FOR SPRING CLEANING … Indian River School District rolled the dice this time and lost the gamble.
If there is ever a time to start opening the closets and digging into the Indian River School District’s habits - this is the time. This set of circumstances with the principal from Sussex Central High School is a symptom of a bigger problem in the Indian River School District. This shouldn’t have happened and it clearly sheds light on the incompetency and lack of care the district has with protecting its children and its staff. The reality is that the district DIDN’T GET LUCKY THIS TIME where they could sweep another indiscretion that jeopardizes student safety and security under the rug. They rolled the dice and they lost this one.
ALL CALL: Taxpayers, community members, parents: Start ASKING QUESTIONS; start DEMANDING ANSWERS.
THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR FOR SEVERAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. And some of those people who are running this year are retired and worked in IRSD schools and are well aware of the game of illusion and how its played to fool the taxpayers, community members, and parents. While other candidates ARE RUNNING AGAIN this year and have sat on the board for decades PROTECTING PEOPLE RIGHT IN THEIR BACK YARDS WHO CHOOSE TO VICTIMIZE CHILDREN while turning the other way.
Playing dumb isn’t an option and demanding answers from Dr. Bunting and the school board is the ONLY OPTION at this point.
PARENTS: Stand up and start taking action. You have the RIGHT TO BE HEARD and to have your CHILDREN PROTECTED while they go to school each day.
Its time for a little less prayer by the Board and Dr. Bunting and a little more effort to protect the students.
Don’t be fooled.
May 4th, 2008 at 6:37 am
I spoke with several of the school board members as this fiasco unfolded Friday afternoon. In their defense, to a point, when it came to Principal Dana Goodman, the school board was not wearing blinders. Yes there were accusations made, however there was nothing found during investigations by the school board to prove those allegations.
Goodman came to Sussex Central from the northern Delaware/Philly area and yes, an extensive background check was done before he was hired. Nothing turned up and there was no indication of anything like this in Goodman’s past.
While there may have been hints and innuendo about Goodman running around the school and letters or emails sent to the school board, they are just that until evidence can be found or witnesses come forward. A person is innocent until PROVEN guilty. That proof was not being found.
Who knows if the investigators looked in the wrong places, spoke to the wrong people or what, but this current mess has been going on since January - and neither Goodman or the 17 year old were talking - even if asked. As I was told - nothing was found during the investigations by the school board into the complaints about Goodman.
Yes, an email that was forwarded to the station brought issues to light and threw the spotlight all over Sussex Central and Goodman. Who knows what made the teen step forward when she did, but that gave school officials and the state police the evidence they needed to dig deeper and find enough to arrest Goodman. I’ve heard, though I have no proof, that text messages are part of that evidence.
This is the full text of the State Police release that was put out Friday.
“Sussex Central High School Principal Arrested for Rape of a Student
Released- Friday, May 2, 2008
Laurel- State Police Detectives have concluded an investigation today into the alleged rape of a 17-year-old female high school student by her principal.
This investigation, which was also initiated today, was launched when an anonymous tip was sent to the school district via a letter. This tip was then turned over to the State Police who looked into the aforementioned allegations outlined in the letter. Mr. Dana I. Goodman, 38, of August Street in Easton, Maryland, was arrested this afternoon after detectives from the State Police implicated him in the rape of a student attending Sussex Central High School. Mr. Goodman is the principal there and detectives understand the contact, which was consensual, began in the early part of January of this year. The last contact was approximately a week ago.
He was formally charged with Endangering the Welfare of a Child, thirty (30) counts of Rape 4th and Continual Sexual Abuse of a Child- all felonies. This investigation revealed Goodman and the student met at various location in Sussex and Kent counties where these acts were committed.
Dana Goodman was arraigned and committed to the Sussex Correctional Institute in lieu of $331,000.00 cash only bail. As a condition of his bail, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim- direct or indirect; no contact with children under the age of 18 and no contact with the Indian River School District or its employees.
Because of the sensitive nature of this complaint, certain details of this incident will not be released.
Questions regarding Dana Goodman’s employment should be directed to district officials as the State Police will not comment on this particular matter.
Anyone else who feels as though they too have been victimized, should call investigators at 302-856-5850 ext 219. “
May 4th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Hmm, its ashamed that Dana Goodman’s victim didn’t accomplished a “LORETTA BOBBIT” on the guy. I cosider it justice. Am I getting too warped for wgmd bloggers? GOOD!!!
May 4th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
It makes you wonder just what happened at the prom. The relationship between him and the young girl ended a week ago, which was just about prom time. I hope there isn’t another victim out there.
This is just so sad. Shouldn’t there be another charge since he was in a position of trust/authoritative figure?
I feel sorry for his family, the girl’s family, and of course the staff at SCSH. I hope you get through this and the staff grows stronger and give the seniors and the wrestlers the limelight/recognition they deserve. It has always been a great school. Don’t focus on him right now, focus on the good things at SCHS.
May 4th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I also feel sorry for the innocent students at that school. However, just from the few posts on the subject, they seem to be a good bunch of kids who really have their “heads on straight”. Roy, you are definitely not too warped in my opinion. I think that was a great thought!!! I hope Fox news does not get wind of this as Delaware might just have Greta in Delaware reporting on the incident. She is also one of my favorites, does a great job. Anyway, I sure hope the principal has his day in court and is sentenced accordingly. Maybe I will be called for jury duty on that one. One can only hope !!!
May 4th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
TIME FOR SPRING CLEANING … Indian River School District rolled the dice this time and lost the gamble.
If there is ever a time to start opening the closets and digging into the Indian River School District’s habits - this is the time. This set of circumstances with the principal from Sussex Central High School is a symptom of a bigger problem in the Indian River School District. This shouldn’t have happened and it clearly sheds light on the incompetency and lack of care the district has with protecting its children and its staff. The reality is that the district DIDN’T GET LUCKY THIS TIME where they could sweep another indiscretion that jeopardizes student safety and security under the rug. They rolled the dice and they lost this one.
ALL CALL: Taxpayers, community members, parents: Start ASKING QUESTIONS; start DEMANDING ANSWERS.
THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR FOR SEVERAL SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. And some of those people who are running this year are retired and worked in IRSD schools and are well aware of the game of illusion and how its played to fool the taxpayers, community members, and parents. While other candidates ARE RUNNING AGAIN this year and have sat on the board for decades PROTECTING PEOPLE RIGHT IN THEIR BACK YARDS WHO CHOOSE TO VICTIMIZE CHILDREN while turning the other way.
Playing dumb isn’t an option and demanding answers from Dr. Bunting and the school board is the ONLY OPTION at this point.
PARENTS: Stand up and start taking action. You have the RIGHT TO BE HEARD and to have your CHILDREN PROTECTED while they go to school each day.
Its time for a little less prayer by the Board and Dr. Bunting and a little more effort to protect the students.
Don’t be fooled.
May 5th, 2008 at 8:14 am
Ok, so he is disgusting. Purely. But has anyone thought the 17 year old is just as disgusting? By law, she holds the age of consent. Since she had consented to sex, “rape” should not be the term. “Statutory rape” is the correct term meaning “by law, this is rape” not forced. Here is what might have happened. If he is disgusting enough to have sex with one teenager, he is sick enough to have sex with another. He got tired of her and started courting another young girl. The first girl gets jealous and, knowing society would view her as the victim, exposes him and his sick perversions. Possibility number two: Prosecuting a crime needs a victim therefore, it has gone un-noticed for so long because no one felt victimized enough to speak up (here is where consent comes back into pay). The 17 year-old’s guardians got wind of what she was doing and decided (since they couldnt control their daughter) to expose him and put him in jail. Word spreads in a highschool like disease in a 3rd world country, if someone really didnt like what he was doing, it could have easily been stopped. Thanks to our ever rising liberal population, kids have more guts to stand up and protest when they believe something is wrong. Clearly, none of the kids thought anything was wrong. That girl is just as disgusting as he.
May 5th, 2008 at 9:14 am
Rum-Runner, good for you. It’s about time someone questioned the behaviour of the ‘victim’. I did consider it but then I had already done so on my own blog so no point or need doing so here. You and I both know, I’m sure, it’s an unpopular opinion or tack to question why the 17yrs. old continued…for four months…to meet and be intimate with a man she knew to be old enough to be her father and who was married. And if she didn’t have sense enough to understand this, she shouldn’t be allowed to be out on her own in the first place. Yes, any man who takes advantage of young woman in this or any other manner is reprehensible, disgusting, and many other adjectives so he doesn’t get a pass but I’ve heard not one word questioning the behaviour/actions of the girl.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I will be voting against the upcoming referendum for IRSD and I hope a lot of others will do the same due to the bad judgement of the IR school board as far as hiring someone such as Goodman.
May 5th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I worked in the same system as he did 2 years ago. He was doing the same stuff them
May 5th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Right on Nancy. We are 2 people who understand there is always more than one face to these sorts of things.
May 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
[...] Click here to read our first post about the local Principal Charged with rape. [...]
May 5th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Well I am a senior at Central and I agree that this is a terrible thing to happen to our school but I am not ashamed to be apart of this school. I knew that as soon as this story got out people would be looking at us as bad people. And It has nothing to do with us as a whole. There are plenty of people who work hard to make each and every student a better person. And it is sad that because of one person we are all branded by the same stigma now. I think that as a school we should unite and prove that we are better than this.
I have worked my whole life to be where I am now and I refuse to let on person ruin MY view on MY school! Goodman wasn’t the one that influenced MY choice to go to central and he was not the one to influence MY choice to do well. To be completely honest he had little or nothing to do with any of my education. So to say the least I am not affected by his choice. He has to live with what he did and our school will have to move on from this and rebuild our image. I will not be ashamed of my school and I will be sad to leave. Because school pride has more to do with the people you surround yourself with and I am still proud to be A SUSSEX CENTRAL KNIGHT!
May 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I’m a senior at Sussex Central and I have a few things I want to say. I don’t intend to offend anybody, but being as it’s my opinion on what happened this weekend, someone will get all defensive about my point of view. But I’m going to speak it anyway.
Everybody is blaming Goodman for what happened. Granted, it was a horrible choice on his part, but it was a decision he made. He messed up, so he can handle what he gets. But what everybody is over looking is the fact that she also made the decision to do what she did. She didn’t have to get involved, she could have stopped the whole thing before it went anywhere, but she didn’t. Now there are multiple rumors going around the school about the fact that he must have had sexual relations with this girl, and he was awfully nice to that one so he definitely got to her too.
This weekend, a text message went around stating that Monday was “flip flop day” for all the students. Some ignorant little teenager decided that because the principal did something illegal, that ment everyone could break the rules. Hello???? What makes you think that doing something that ignorant and immature is going to proove any point?? You want to show off to Goodman, good luck with that, he’s not currently allowed to even look at you. Walking around in short skirts and flip flops is not going to fix anything. Students are just using what he did as an excuse to break the rules and do whatever they want. Those kids??? They were doing that all year long anyway. The whole situation just goes to show that you are not any better than he is. He broke the law. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care that you didn’t wear shoes with straps on the back of them.
I just think it’s ridiculous that the entire student body finds it funny and loves to joke around about what happened. It’s not funny, in anyway. The entire day today, everybody was celebrating and carrying on and saying they never liked the man anyway. I’m not trying to stand up for him, what I’m saying is let it go.
Don’t forget it happened, but don’t keep bringing it up. Talking about it constantly is not going to solve the problem, nor make our school look any better. Kids from other schools have always talked bad about our schools anyway, don’t let them continue to bring us down. Hold your heads high, and tell people that you go to Sussex Central. Smile when you say it. What that man did has nothing to do with us. It was his decision, not ours. The student body should not be affected by it so dramatically. Nor the parents. Considering, this is going to come back to bite me in the butt, that almost none of the parents ever decided to cause such an uproar before. You never called the school to complain about what has been occuring, all the little things, for the last two years. Grades have dropped, more detentions have gone out, there have been drug deals in the parking lot!!! All the students hear about it, some of them are involved. And now you decide you have the nerve to raise hell because someone finally went to jail. If you had been more involved in your kids lives, stopped them from being disrespectful, going to parties, thinking that they’re older than they really are, maybe this could have been prevented. Don’t assume now that your tough because you can rant and rave with all the other outraged parents who have never done anything either. I’m sorry, but you have no right.
I want our school to be respected. I want the students to understand what all the other staff and facilty is trying to do for us. But I guess wanting doesn’t always make things happen.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I find it reprehensible to start this “blame the victim” garbage. The young lady involved was a 17 year old kid with very poor judgement. Mr. Goodman was her “respected” principal that by law is required to use better judgement and not have sex with students in his care. He used his power and authority to groom this young woman, and I doubt she was the first to fall for his manipulation. By the time the dust settles, I believe we will know of more than this one victim this year. Mr. Goodman has sexually harassing teachers and students for years. Unfortunately, not all of the harassment was criminal and the Indian River School Board and Maryland turned a blind eye to his behavior. The rumors have been flying for years, and this lady is very brave to have spoken up and ended his reign of terror, regardless of the motives that brought her forward.
He is a criminal, and deserves to be locked up. Defending him by bashing the victim just serves to perpetuate this evil behavior.
May 5th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Nancy and Rum Runner, I agree with you both completely. The girl was definitely not “raped”, or else she would have come out screaming and kicking and immediately reporting the incident. The only thing that makes it a “rape” is the fact that she is only 17 years old. However, I am sure that she will continue to be the “victim”, no matter what the outcome might be. I find this extremely disgusting. Consider the fact that she was still a student at 19 ears of age and the thing still happened. He still should not be “fooling around” with the students who he is teaching.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
so i was just reading the comments left by rum_runner and nancy and just a note on that subject - no one knows the story…there are many questions that need to be answered….i understand that you would automatically assume that she played the role of the jealous teen, however he is known for this behavior and with the position he holds, he could have definately been in the position to hold something over her head. blackmail does exist people. so before you say you can see both sides of the story, mayyyyybe you should reevaluate the situation…..just a thought
May 5th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Mr.Goodman was my Vice Principal and was a VERY good vice principal and was a great benefit to my high school! Many student that I graduated with would NOT have graduated without Mr.Gooman’s help. I know what he did was not right in anyway and its not like he forced himself on the girl she obliviously liked it and wanted it over and over again, they are both to blame! And he was a good father to his children and never came off in a preverted or sexual way towards me or to anyone that i knew. Nothing i say or anyone says can make this situation right, but it does not make him an aweful person in every which way.
Its so funny how people are calling the girl and harmless victim! Ha! She wanted it, as i previously stated.
And my local news paper was completely ignorant and gave her EX-wifes name and address, there was no need for that because now I’m sure her work as a doctor is in hell because of his mistake.
Don’t you all know the damn definition of Consensual? for all u morons that don’t know it MEANS the damn girl ALLOWED IT! 30 times if i remember correctly! Doesn’t sound like a victim to me!
May 5th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I don’t believe it was assumed the young woman was “a jealous teen”…silly, perhaps and I suppose jealousy could have played a part. Seems to me that some, myself included, choosing not to pander to the “poor victim” attitude, is simply suggesting that few expect that she did, indeed, have a responsibility to ensure her own welfare and at 17 she surely isn’t too young to accept that responsibility or for others to expect that she own it. At 17 I bet she drives, may even have her own car; probably has been baby-sitting for neighbours, friends etc. to earn money of her own; had summer job…think for a minute the things for which anyone that age accepts responsibility and accountability then tell rum_runner, myself and the other few here why you don’t believe she should also accept it for her behaviour over a four month period of time?
No-one, not one, has so much as suggested that Mr. Goodman’s behaviour and, perhaps, pursuit of this young woman is anything less than abhorrent but someone, somewhere, has already convinced the State Police that their joint behaviour was consensual, enough so that this has been included in the statement they released. The only thing that qualifies this are ‘rape’ or even sexual assault, as I believe bucksmom said, is the young woman’s age. Listen…if you have teens yourself, talk to them…ask how many teenage girl’s heads are turned by the attentions of an older man, a teacher…it could blow your socks off. Ask your wives, your mothers…it may be an aberration but it’s not a sign of the times in which only they now live. What he did is ALWAYS wrong but who says she didn’t think it was “cool”, that she had “bragging rights”. And maybe therein lies a good part of the problem…and has been said for years. Our children…including those whom we believe and hope are old enough to know better…get too much laxity. They are dating barely out of elementary school, too many mothers (in particular) fret if they think their daughters don’t have a date for the weekend, allow them to stay out all night on Prom night, help them pay to be June Bugs in OC. We have girls sexually active as tweenies, unwed mothers as teens. If she is not at least mature enough at 17 to own up to having done wrong herself, in this instance, there is little hope.
May 5th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Ok i’m posting again because everyone else seems to have conflicting views
But im in several classes with some of the people posting here and i couldn’t agree with half of you moren
I’m not taking sides on either of this issue.. im just here to graduate and get the hell out if you know what i mean!
But i hate how they portray the girl who everyone knows but for the sake of this i will leave out. “gets around” and she knew EXACTLY what she was doing when she did all this.. i’ve had classes with her.. and she was just as much manipulative as Goodman could have been.. so she could have been using him to get what she wants.
I hate how when they say oh its consensual but shes 17 what does she know.. I damn well know at 17 years old who i would have sex with and who i wouldn’t i know the law
What goodman should have done is to confront her parents about this and let them handle it.. its not like she was in love with him. And i hope she comes to school these last 9 days and gets ridiculed and goes home crying.. because she knows what she did and she deserves to get punishment just as goodman is. He has to sell his house.. lose his family and everything he has worked for to get out of the philly ghetto to help other students as well.. and ow his entire life is RUINED because of one mistake
now.. onto the issue of the whole get rid of our school board members.
While i agree there needs to be some changes done because i do not agree 100% with all there decisions such as uniforms, Trying to cut the JROTC program( which as a member really ticks me off) but they DID perform back ground checks just as every other member of the district goes through.. and there was nothing on his record.. this event was unprecedented in his past so there is no way to have told this has happened before
But i have one more thing to ask before this is all over.. Where was all that “pool” of blood from.. I know that loosing your virginity. does NOT involve that much blood so i do believe that whatever happened in D106 was more than just a sexual encounter.. because that is the last known meeting of the two
May 5th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
“I will be voting against the upcoming referendum for IRSD and I hope a lot of others will do the same due to the bad judgement of the IR school board as far as hiring someone such as Goodman.”
That is the most ludicrous thing that I have heard. Do you feel that the kids should be punished because of one man’s actions? Should my grandkids not have the opportunity to attend full day kindergarten like all of the other kids in the state? Should the IR teachers be paid one of the lowest salaries in the state because of a rapist? Going with your logic, we should reduce or eliminate payment of social security. Our genius government had ruined it. Does that mean we punish the seniors? What should have been done because of Slick Willy antics? People are speaking before they think!! Let’s not ruin our community because of the antics of 1 person, who by the way lived in Maryland!
May 5th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
No one knows what really went on between those two.. Everyone “hears” things, and it seems like everyone’s uncle is a state trooper or a prison gaurd so they think they know more than anyone… but no one really knows exactly what occured. When we are given a little information its natural for us to want to know more, but when there is no way of finding out more, we begin to use our imaginations. I heard so many ridiculous stories today. We shouldn’t assume anything about this situation, and we especially shouldn’t make judgements based on assumptions.
And to those of you who think that this issue should be swept under the rug and forgotten, you are wrong. We as students are hurt by what has happened.. it is a big deal. If students need to talk about it (in a serious and non-offensive way) then they should be able to.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:49 am
To Aduncan:
As a parent of a Sussex Central student I resent the fact that you insulted the students of Sussex Central by calling them ignorant and immature little teenagers for breaking dress code on Monday. As far as I’m concerned, this was a peaceful way for them to protest the fact that they were betrayed by their principal. They are embarrassed and ashamed of him, and this was a harmless way for them to express that. And they do it all year?? I don’t think so! One thing Goodman was good at was enforcing dress code. In fact, he apparently made efforts to enforce it at Prom; by having girls send him picture messages of their dress for his approval .But that’s all hearsay isn’t it?
I do agree that the students need to move on and get over this, but don’t you think that may take a little time? After all, it was only the first day back at school since he was arrested. I think it may take a little longer than a few days for the students to vent and get their feelings about the situation out in the open, before they can move on.
As for your comments about the parents ranting and raving; you’re darn right we’re going to rant and rave! How would you know who has called the school or the board and complained about Goodman in the past? Had some of us known this was going on, we’d of been raising hell a long time ago. That’s how we, as parents, get things done. Have you ever heard the expression “The squeaky wheel gets the oil”? Apparently there were a lot of us complaining but nothing ever came of it. So now that this man’s true character is in the public eye, why wouldn’t we rant and rave? We have EVERY right to! These are our kids!! How dare you question us as parents? We should “stop our kids from being disrespectful” and “going to parties”??? Ha ha. Honey, we try, EVERY DAY, all of us. But, all we can do as parents at some point is hope that all the lessons we taught will stick with our kids and hope for the best when they get to the age when it’s their responsibility to make their own decisions and live with the consequences. Unfortunately, as in this girl’s case, they don’t always make the right choices. But you’ve obviously never done anything wrong. I want you to get out of that bubble you’ve been living in and face the real world.
May 6th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Haha. Said that I’d cause problems.
Yes, I’ve done things wrong, I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’m pretty far from perfect actually. And I have no problem admitting it.
And yes, the majority of the students are ignorant and immature. And yeah, I can say that. You know why?? Because I have spent almost everyday of the past 4 years with them. I know how they really act. You have to understand (you were a kid once, so know you did it too) that because you are a parent, your kid is not honest with you completely. They come up with stories to tell parents about where they spend their weekends and then come to school monday still hungover and talking about how they got so trashed or so high they don’t remember anything. Parents don’t hear those stories.
I’m not saying parents don’t try. But there are some parents who don’t attempt to stop it. What parent in there right mind actually tells their UNDERAGE teenager it’s alright to invite friends over to drink. I understand that some parents say ‘better at home then somewhere else’ but thats ridiculous. And even worse is that some parents actually provide the alcohol.
Yes, Goodman did enforce the dress code. But he was biased about it. That is something you didn’t witness either. There are some students that wore flip flops or something else against the dress code everyday. But because they were ‘cool with Goodman’ he never wsaid anything. Then you have the rest of the students that he would go so far as to pull of the bus or out of the middle of class about it. I don’t care if he wants to enforce the dresscode. But then do it with everyone, not whoever you feel like it. You say you are a ’scrent.’ That means that at least one of your kids goes to Sussex Central. Ask them. I’m not making this up to make you feel better, or to make myself seem like a better person. It happened, and any of us students would tell you if you asked.
May 6th, 2008 at 3:37 pm
“I will be voting against the upcoming referendum for IRSD and I hope a lot of others will do the same due to the bad judgement of the IR school board as far as hiring someone such as Goodman.”
That is ridiculous. Why should the students suffer because of the principal. There are many things that need funding in the IRSD due to the implementation of NCLB WITHOUT FUNDING!!! The federal government wants the schools to implement more programs and testing, but they still haven’t approved the funding. It is all going to the new schools in IRAQ>
May 6th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
It is the responsibility of the School Board and the Superintendent to ensure schools are safe and employees are appropriately monitored and evaluated. IRSD is taking action because they have to - there is a REFERENDUM at stake - there are school board elections.
No referendum, no more money, new school board members, new superintendent.
Clean house with the Board! Start over and let the taxpayers keep their money. IRSD is in the spotlight now … just like all skeletons, the light eventually finds them and they are exposed for what they really are … cowards.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I agree with BOO. The Indian River School District needs to evaluate their hiring practices, etc. The Board election has nothing to do with providing the students with the education that they deserve! I urge you to read the read the NCLB and RTI laws (if you have the time for all that rhetoric). Without reading it, you would not understand how much “EXTRA” staffing and work this will require if we are to meet AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). The school board is not affected by the referendum…the children are!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I agree with scrent1. Who are you to call “the majority of the students” at our school ” ignorant and immature”? Do you even know the majority of students??? I doubt it. You just look at your peers and judge them like that? Your comment really offended me. I go to Central too, and I don’t feel the same way at all, we are not ignorant or immature. I beleive that on Monday we handled the situation very well.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
[...] went right into executive session.Now, under the cirumstances, (you know, with Dana Goodman, the Sussex Central High School principal sitting in prison for allegedl…), you’d think they would have taken the time to speak to the small group of parents who [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Being one of the immature kids at this school i handled the situation very well. But alot of kids were very immature about it and started rumors and everything
There is only about 30 kids in this school who is not ignorant and immature and i’m not lying on that one. Yea you may seem mature because your popular you have a nice car you have a job.. but when you sit here and spread rumors about something that should be left ot dealt with by the proper officials and making there life harder that is straight disrespectful.
About the whole MONDAY issue.. that was just stupid.. they thought of that within the hour of him being fired. i had a text message that was forwarded like 8 times before it got to me. Just because the authority broke the rules doesnt mean you should.. A rule is a rule and is meant to be abided. By wearing flip flops or tank tops or hats all day.. goes to show how much effect he had on our school. That wasn’t a protest.. that was immature. So to every kid who left early.. skipped school.. broke dress code or anything. You are IMMATURE. IGNORANT AND DO NOT DESERVE TO BE IN THIS FINE SCHOOL
and for the love of whatever god you choose to believe in stop calling her a victim.. and call her dumb
May 7th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
How is it that no one came forward or found no reason to report this Mr. Goodman’s horrible behavior ? Does he know someone influential , is he a minority where some people may feel that he would claim that he was targeted ? Did he have some dirt on others so they all kept quiet ? Regardless whether this “Child” had consentual relations, He was supposed to be an adult and a role model and not partake in such a sick, inappropriate sexual relations. We all need to learn from this situation and take it to a broader level and stop patronizing the music , fashions, and immoral attitudes that society tends to tolerate. MAy God Bless us and give all guidance to stop these situations from occuring
May 8th, 2008 at 11:18 am
To Aduncan
Thanks for your reply. However, I’m not quite sure what your point is. Is it that Goodman unfairly enforced the dress code at SC? Or that teenagers lie to their parents?
In either case, I agree, but I don’t see how either point is relevant to your first posting wherein you insulted the SC students by calling them ignorant and immature and basically told parents we had no right to voice our opinions on the situation and insinuated we should keep our mouths shut about the matter.
I don’t feel the need to ask any students to back up your comments on how dress code was enforced or how they spend their weekend. I know how my child spends the weekend. You must think parents are stupid if you think we don’t know what goes on; you see we have this thing; call it parental instinct, if you will. We pretty much know when our kids are lying to us. I guarantee you that 99.9 percent of the time we know. Only difference is, some of us take steps to correct the bad behavior. We’re the ones that are at all the parent advisory meetings, the parent-teacher conferences, the banquets, award ceremonies and all the sporting events and booster meetings. We know who our kid’s friends are and who their friends’ parents are, and we talk to them. We are in constant contact with our children to make sure they are where they tell us they will be. You may be surprised to hear that some parents do have good relationships and open communication with their children. We ask them about what’s going on at school and in their lives everyday.. Granted, sometimes its like pulling teeth to get answers, we keep asking until we get them. This doesn’t mean we don’t get lied to and have the wool pulled over our eyes. From time to time, they do get away with it. So, my point is, don’t make generalized comments and insults about the students of SC, its bad enough the other schools do it, we don’t need one of our own adding to the problem. Sussex Central students are not all little ignorant teenagers who lie to their parents every weekend so they can go out and get trashed. Some of us raise responsible young adults that we are proud of.