Clark County school officials Tuesday sent a letter to all parents in the district notifying them that a man arrested on sex charges Monday had been on the campuses of two schools last month.
Michael A. Raad was arrested by Winchester Police Oct. 27 and charged with seven counts of first degree-sexual abuse and two counts of first-degree sodomy for allegedly abusing four children over a period of three months. None of the alleged offenses were committed on school property, according to police.
Superintendent Elaine Farris said when the district was made aware of the police investigation of Raad, officials looked at visitor records and found Raad had visited two schools last month.
The letter sent to parents stated that, “Upon investigation, it was determined that the individual (being investigated) had been on a couple of our campuses, but at no time was he/she ever alone with a child or a group of children. Our investigation revealed that all board policies and procedures that pertain to visitors on campus were followed. At all times when the individual was in a school building, he/she was under the supervision of the building administrator, as are all visitors.
“During the timeframe the individual visited our campuses, we were not aware of any criminal investigation. However, once administrators were made aware of the ongoing investigation, the individual was not allowed on any Clark County Public School campus,” the letter continued.
Farris said the letter was drafted as soon as the district was notified but, at the request of police, was not sent until after Raad was arrested.
“When we learned about the charges against him the police officer told us to wait until they made an arrest to send out the letter,” Farris said. “We drafted the letter, then as soon as they told us he had been arrested, we sent it out to all parents in the district, not just to the parents at the two school campuses he had visited.”
Farris said she also wanted to dispel rumors that Raad was a school employee.
“At no time was he an employee of the school district, nor was he a student in our system,” Farris said. “The safety of our students and our staff is our first priority. As soon as we became aware of the situation, we investigated, and all policies and procedures concerning visitors were followed.”
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.
