PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A school staff member in Portsmouth has been placed on administrative leave after "disturbing allegations" were made against them in a social media post, according to a letter sent from Jennelle Burden, principal of Churchland High School.
According to the Burden, Child Protective Services and law enforcement are investigating the allegations, though the letter did not state what those allegations were specifically.
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Principal Jennelle Burden has sent the following message to her school community:
Good afternoon, Churchland families –Over the weekend, our administration was made aware of disturbing allegations made against one of our staff members that were posted on social media.We took immediate action and contacted both Child Protective Services and law enforcement. This is now a police matter, and the school division has no role except to support the investigation however needed.
That said, we understand that allegations of this nature can be upsetting for our students and families. Please know that our school counseling team is available for anyone who may want to talk.
Families can also always access the division’s Here to Help webpage at ppsk12.us/heretohelp [ppsk12.us] as well as the Care Solace service provider.Thank you for your support of Churchland High School.
Portsmouth police say the staff member is not facing charges at this time and that this is an on-going investigation.
News 3's Leondra Head spoke to one Churchland High parent,who didn’t want her face shown. She says she learned about a social media post from her daughters, who are freshmen at the school.
"The post I seen said that he had been doing that to her, raping and molesting her since 2015. She was a student at the time. I’m assuming by now, she’s probably graduated," the parent said.
"This right here is a shocker. We got an email that they are investigating and going to help police as much as they can."
News 3 is committed to following through on these allegations in the Portsmouth community.
Our staff has reached out to law enforcement for more information regarding the investigation.
