Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, are trying to ease the concerns of families after it took about three weeks to notify the public that a Fairview Elementary School teacher was accused of sexually abusing students.
John Barger, 47, was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery this past Thursday, after allegations first surfaced Jan. 17, leading to questions about why it took so long for investigators to tell the public what was going on.
“We don’t always have immediate probable cause to make an arrest,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said. “We want to be right when we when we say someone’s name out loud. We don’t ever want to have to pull back an allegation because we weren’t able to develop probable cause, and then someone’s reputationally harmed forever.”
According to Davis, the investigation started after a young girl and her mother appeared at Fairview Elementary School and formally filed a report.
Barger was placed on administrative leave the next day, on Jan. 18.
“As soon as we were made aware of the circumstances, our staff responded exactly as they’re directed to and contacted the appropriate authorities,” Fairfax County Superintendent Michelle Reid said. “Those authorities then have to have time to investigate.”
Over the course of the investigation, a second young girl was identified as an alleged victim.
On Feb. 6, Barger was then arrested and charged with sexually abusing the two students, leading to a public announcement from police and the school district the following day.
“In this case, we did not communicate with parents until we actually were noticed that there were charges and an arrest that were going to occur,” Reid said. “The information we had was turned over to law enforcement, as we do as a matter of course, and at such time that they had probable cause to develop charging documents — that’s the point where we will notify parents.”
When asked why families were not notified that a serious investigation had been launched, Davis responded by saying that he didn’t want a message going out that would be “some type of nebulous or vague notification that leaves people scratching their heads.”
Davis said the school system acted appropriately, removing Barger from the school when the investigation first began.
“It was an immediate action that the school took to protect students and others, because, in fact, we had not yet charged Barger with a crime,” Davis said. “He was a suspect. We did not have probable cause to charge Barger with a crime. They applied their own discretion and removed that teacher from the school.”
Davis said police do not have evidence indicating there are any additional victims.
“That door is open if we stumble upon evidence or witnesses who want to come forward,” Davis said.
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