Clay County Sheriff Reveals Multiple Allegations of Abuse at Cornerstone- Excelsior Citizen

Last week the Excelsior Citizen shared a press release from the Excelsior Springs School District (ESSD) in which ESSD stated that the District had completed, “a thorough internal investigation of an allegation that a student was subjected to inappropriate disciplinary measures by a staff member at Cornerstone Elementary.” The District’s investigation determined that the allegations were unsubstantiated and the teacher was restored to full duties. According to ESSD Deputy Superintendent, Jaret Tomlinson, ESSD had felt confident in its decision to reinstate the teacher after conferring with investigators from Missouri Children’s Division who, according to Tomlinson, came to a similar conclusion.

A press release issued by ESSD on May 2, 2022 reinstated the teacher to classroom duties.

However, a Kansas City Fox 4 News broadcast on Tuesday (5/10/22) evening revealed that Clay County Sheriff’s department is still conducting a criminal investigation of the alleged abuse(s). In addition to the initial complaint filed with the Missouri Children’s Division, there was also a complaint filed with the Excelsior Springs Police Department sometime in early April. Excelsior Springs Police Chief, Gregory Dull said ESPD transferred the case to the Clay County Sheriff’s Department to avoid any potential conflicts of interest, due to the fact that ESPD provides School Resource Officers for ESSD and several of the officers knew the accused teacher personally.

A press release issued by the Clay County Sheriff’s Department on Wednesday afternoon (5/11/22) confirmed that although communication released from ESSD last week accurately stated their internal investigation and the Children’s Division’s investigation of the initial complaint had concluded, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office’s criminal investigation remains ongoing. Information in the press release also disclosed that there are actually a total of four separate complaints that have been filed in this investigation so far. The press release states, “The initial complaint was brought by parents of two students (not the same family) against a teacher at the school. The parents alleged the teacher physically assaulted the students. Since taking over the case, parents of two other children at the school have contacted Sheriff’s Office detectives with concerns about their children’s treatment.”

A press release issued by the Clay Co. Sheriff’s Office on May 11, 2022 revealed details of the ongoing criminal investigation.

In a phone conversation with Deputy Superintendent Tomlinson (~ 12:30 PM 5/11/22), he indicated that he and other school officials only became aware of the ongoing criminal investigation by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office after Fox 4 released their story Tuesday evening. He says he believed the investigation had been turned over to the Missouri Children’s Division who had to his knowledge already concluded their inquiry. Tomlinson stated, “I didn’t know they [Clay Co. Sheriff] were doing a full investigation until this came out last night. I thought they were just going to do an inquiry into the complaint they had, and then they would drop it because Children’s Division was already on it.” In light of the revelation of the additional allegations, ESSD issued a press release at 7:15 PM Wednesday evening (5/11/22) stating that they would follow their established protocol and place the teacher back on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations.

A press release issued by ESSD on May 11, 2022 revealed that the teacher would be place back on administrative leave pending the outcome of the ongoing investigations.

The Excelsior Citizen is committed to delivering the most accurate and detailed accounts of news and events in Excelsior Springs. We will continue to monitor this story and provide updates as they become available.