An elementary school teacher in Naples, Florida has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after sexually abusing at least 20 children, some as young as 6-years-old. Hector Manley was arrested in 2019 after three victims reported his behavior to the authorities. The school itself is now being sued by some of the parents for its refusal to do anything about Manley even after learning directly from students about his misconduct.
School ignored abuse carried out by teacher
Hector Manley, a double amputee, taught first and second-grade and coached the soccer team at Parkside Elementary School. Manley is originally from El Salvador but was adopted.
Victims did not testify in court but they told investigators that Manley frequently molested them both in the classroom and at soccer practices.
The year before his arrest the principal and assistant principals were allegedly told about this behavior, which students directly reported to them, but the school chose to ignore Manley’s behavior.
The school seems to have done nothing at all in response to the allegations until victims went to the police and Manley was finally arrested in 2019.
The school is located in a heavily Hispanic area and prosecutors had a translator read three letters from victims and parents denouncing the teacher in Spanish.
In addition to the 25-year prison sentence, Manley agreed to be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life as part of the plea deal he agreed to.
A national problem
Sadly, the only unusual part of this story is the fact that Hector Manley will face some degree of justice for his crimes, despite the school’s efforts to brush his behavior under the rug.
Sexual abuse carried out by public school teachers is not uncommon in the United States, though it rarely attracts much attention and most schools do little to prevent it.
The headlines in the United States are often consumed by allegations of abuse by Catholic priests, but even on a per capita basis public school teachers are far more likely to sexually abuse children.
Studies from the Department of Education have in the past concluded that somewhere between 5-7 percent of public school teachers engaged in sexually abusive behavior towards students. Research on the subject is limited and many abuses likely go unreported.
The percentage of abusive teachers is small, but on a national scale the scope of the abuse is enormous and harms millions of children. Schools are rarely much more proactive than Parkside Elementary School was in this case.
Hector Manley may have been caught, but how many others are still getting away with their crimes by using the inaction of America’s public school system as a shield?