Warren Elementary Principal Accused of Touching Student Inappropriately
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Updated: 9:09 AM Mar 17, 2010
Warren Elementary Principal Accused of Touching Student Inappropriately
An elementary school principal is under investigation after allegations surface that he inappropriately touched a ten-year-old girl.
Posted: 11:50 PM Mar 12, 2010
Reporter: Daniel Kemp
Email Address: daniel.kemp@wbko.com
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An elementary school principal is under investigation after allegations surface that he inappropriately touched a ten-year-old girl.

It happened earlier this week at Warren Elementary School and the girl's parents, even teachers say they're in shock at what happened.

"Upset is not even the right word," said a parent of the little girl. "Disbelief."

It's what no parent wants -- to hear their child say they were inappropriately touched at school.

"There's no place for something like that going on in an elementary school," the parent said. "That's not a professional thing to do."

Police say 50-year-old Principal Phillip Shelton is suspected of "smacking" a ten-year-old student "on the butt."

"I just can't believe he would actually do something like that," the parent said. "And to even do it in front of students and teachers, like it wasn't a big problem."

According to the police report, the victim alleges that after she was smacked, Shelton said,"I just couldn't resist it."

A teacher who witnessed the incident told police she didn't know what to do or say because "she was in shock."

"We want to cooperate with law enforcement," said Joanie Hendricks, public relations coordinator for Warren County Schools. "We don't want to impose on their investigation and what they have going on."

The school board isn't saying anything about the allegations except that the matter is a personnel issue involving employment.

"Their first concern is to make sure that the safety of the students is taken in. It's our number one priority," Hendricks said.

But the report goes on to say that following the incident, Shelton apologized to the girl and said, "You know you're my favorite one."

The teacher, who even made an anonymous report to the board on the issue, states that Shelton then told the little girl to go to his office and get a piece of candy.

"Just like it wasn't a big deal," the parent said. "But it's a big deal, especially to the parents it's a big deal."

School officials would not tell us what the status of Principal Shelton's employment was as of Friday.

Our attempts to contact Shelton were unsuccessful.



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