In a statement he read after his charges were dismissed, former Capital High School Principal Clinton Giles said he was the subject of character assassination and questioned why his case was rushed to judgment.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A misdemeanor charge against former Capital High School Principal Clinton Giles for not immediately reporting the sexual assault of a female student on campus was dismissed Wednesday by Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Giles was suspended without pay and charged with a misdemeanor last month after being accused of not immediately reporting the Jan. 26 assault of a 15-year-old female student by another student. He later resigned his position.
Kanawha Prosecutor Chuck Miller has said the delay violates the state’s mandatory reporting law, which requires all teachers and school personnel to immediately inform police of any physical or sexual assault involving a child.
Dallas King, the 17-year-old Capital High School student who admitted to forcing the female student to have sex with him, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a first-degree sexual abuse charge. He awaits sentencing from Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey and faces up to five years in prison.
The incident between the two students, who previously had a sexual relationship, was made known to school officials when the female student told her counselor that King was sexually harassing her and forced her to have sex at school. The counselor then reported the incident to Giles who directed his assistant principals to review surveillance footage in the morning.
“As soon as he learned what happened, he called the school board and police…
