STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An eastern Ohio elementary school
official will perform community service related to rape awareness in
exchange for prosecutors dropping a charge that she failed to report
rumors of a teenage sex and drinking party, state Attorney General Mike
DeWine announced Wednesday.
Lynnett Gorman had faced a misdemeanor
charge of failure to report child abuse or neglect related to the April
2012 party. The accusation against Gorman arose from an investigation
into other crimes associated with the August 2012 rape of a 16-year-old
girl after a different party, but it was not related to that case.
Gorman,
a principal in the Steubenville city schools, must perform 40 hours of
community service at a rape crisis or victim assistance center and talk
to teachers and administrators in Steubenville about the importance of
reporting child abuse and neglect, DeWine said.
She must also
encourage the school system to host a speaker from the Ohio Alliance
Against Sexual Violence during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.
If she completes those activities, the charge will be dropped by June 1, DeWine said.
The attorney general said more can be accomplished through community service than jail time had Gorman
been convicted.
"The
interests of the community are served by having the principal
acknowledge that she should have done things differently," DeWine said
in a statement, adding: "This is about the long-term healing of the
community."
A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with
Gorman’s attorney, Dennis McNamara, who previously said Gorman was
accused of failing to report possible child abuse, apparently involving a
teen sex and drinking party in April 2012 unrelated to the rape of the
West Virginia girl later that year.
McNamara said Gorman learned about the party second- or third-hand while checking to see if her son had
been involved.
Because
parents of the teens knew of the party’s circumstances, "I don’t think
she had an obligation" to report it, McNamara said last month.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.