Victim's mother speaks out after teacher arrested

May 22—As details continue to emerge in the sexual misconduct case against a Robidoux Middle School teacher, the mother of the 14-year-old victim said her family is dealing with the fallout of the situation.

News-Press NOW sat down with the woman, who we are not naming to protect the identity of the victim, on Wednesday afternoon. She expressed the shock she felt when she received information that district teacher Everett "Tim" Harding was inappropriately involved with her daughter.

Parents send their children to school with the hope that they're learning and being protected, but that wasn't the case for her child.

"I don't think any parent would know what to do with themselves in this moment," she said. "I feel like every single person who saw something at Robidoux Middle School and did not say something failed my daughter. It has been brought to my attention that things between them that were inappropriate were obvious for many months and I've never received one phone call, one email, one bit of information. I want to emphasize that she is newly 14, so this started when she was a 13-year-old little girl."

The probable cause statement details inappropriate behavior that allegedly occurred on May 7. The parent said she received a phone call two days after, stating another staff member reported observing the teacher and student leaving a darkened classroom after school that day. But the mother said the phone call made the situation appear minor.

"I was not told promptly of the actual facts of the case," she said. "It was presented to me in a nonchalant way with no details to follow."

She said because of that, when the details came out, her daughter was no longer eligible for a sexual assault forensic exam.

Since details of the case have been released, the mother said her children are now dealing with bullying for a situation that was out of their control.

She said she had to pull her kids out of school just a few days before summer break started and believes the circumstances have led her to the option of homeschooling four children next school year.

"This has resulted in a bullying pandemic that each of my kids have fallen victim to, so I do not see any possible way that I could ever, nor would I trust, to send my children to this district ever again," she added.

The victim's parent said she wants to remind the community that her daughter was the minor in this situation and it frustrates her that Harding's attorney labeled the relationship as "consensual" in court Wednesday morning.

"She honestly believes that she was in a five-month secret relationship," the mother said of the girl. "He made her believe he was in love with her. Not only is my daughter going through this hard time, but she is going through the emotional baggage of everything that comes with that and it's so difficult to watch."

She said she hopes people will speak up when situations like this one are first observed.

"As parents who have children in the St. Joseph School District, we all need to stand up and say, enough is enough," she said.

The mother specifically gave praise to the St. Joseph police department and all the investigators on the case who showed support and brought awareness to the situation.

District leaders said previously in a statement that they are "fully cooperating with the appropriate authorities in our investigation of this matter and will continue to do so." They also noted reaching out to Robidoux Middle School parents.

Explaining why Harding remains employed by the SJSD, this statement was offered on Tuesday:

"A teacher under contract, such as Mr. Harding, is entitled to pay until the contract is terminated by the Board or he resigns," a statement from the district reads. "The Teacher Tenure Act requires a specific process for termination of a teacher's contract with associated timelines. Because this is a personnel matter, we can only state at this point that the district will aggressively take the steps necessary to appropriately address the matter as promptly as the law permits."

Harding next will appear in court for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on Thursday, May 30.

Jenna Wilson can be reached at jenna.wilson@newspressnow.com.