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Bentonville School District Responds To Employee Rape Conviction

BENTONVILLE (KFSM)- The Bentonville School District released a statement Friday (Jan. 30) after one of its former after-school program employees was convicted o...

BENTONVILLE (KFSM)- The Bentonville School District released a statement Friday (Jan. 30) after one of its former after-school program employees was convicted of raping a five-year-old girl while he was at work.

A jury found Ali Matar, 22, guilty of one count of rape, but not guilty of two counts of sexual assault. Matar was an employee for the Bentonville School District’s Adventure Club when he was accused of sexually assaulting three young girls during the after-school program in May 2014.

For more on the trial, click here.

In response to the verdict, the school district released the following statement:

"Our hearts go out to the children and their families at this time. Bentonville School District employees cooperated fully with the initial police investigation into the allegations against Mr. Matar and worked with the attorneys in this case.  An external review found our policies regarding hiring employees and procedures for operating our Adventure Club afterschool program were appropriate and met standards set by the state of Arkansas.

As a district, we always want to reflect on our policies and procedures and make adjustments to improve our environment and programming for our students.  We reviewed our current policies and practices and made changes to strengthen our delivery. We enhanced our policy, procedures and community outreach in order to provide the highest level of safety possible for children in district programs.

We continue to monitor and adjust safety procedures to be proactive in maintaining and creating safe learning environments for all students.  We remain in partnership with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County to provide training and raise awareness of child safety in the community."

In September 2014, a law firm conducted a review of the school district's Adventure Club after-school program. In the report, the law firm stated the program's policies and procedures were "adequate."

On Friday, following Matar's conviction, Lexie Bradrick, who lives near R.E. Baker Elementary School where the rape happened, said she thinks after-school programs, like Adventure Club, should be a safe haven where parents can leave their children.

"You should be able to drop your kid off and not worry about anything happening to them," Bradrick said. "A young child can't defend themselves. It's just not right."

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