HUNTSVILLE, Ark. — Charges that were originally filed against two former Huntsville School District employees were amended, according to court documents.
Former school superintendent Audra Kimball and former basketball coach Kaleb Houston were initially charged in the first degree for failing to report allegations of sexual abuse made by students.
Documents show that prosecutors agreed to amend these charges to "second-degree failure to notify by a mandated reporter".
Both defendants pleaded no contest to the charges on Feb. 9, and were each ordered to pay $620 in court costs and fines.
The charges had come after Joey McCutchen, the Fort Smith Attorney representing the Huntsville victims, called for a legislative audit of the Arkansas State Police’s investigative unit.
In July, The Huntsville Board of Education admitted liability in a Title IX case going on since February of last year. The suit concerned the sexual abuse allegations made by Huntsville Junior High School students against male basketball players who were accused of restraining other students while other players placed their genitals on or in the faces of the restrained students.
A settlement request was filed in the fall of 2021, for $1 and for the board to admit liability. A federal judge approved the settlement on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. The settlement was for one dollar and the lawsuit stated that the school district will have to admit liability.
McCutchen says this agreement meant the Huntsville School District has admitted to title IX violations because they knew students were being sexually assaulted and did nothing about it.
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