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Woman: Belcher abused me, too
By CHASE SQUIRES, Times Staff Writer As the Pasco County School Board wraps up its sexual harassment investigation into Woodland Elementary School principal Randall Belcher, new allegations have been leveled by a woman claiming Belcher repeatedly molested her when she was his student more than 30 years ago. The woman's claims have been examined by the school district, which considers them a second complaint, unrelated to the sexual harassment charges brought by a Woodland teacher. Belcher, 58, who has been reassigned to an administrative job at the transportation department during the investigation, adamantly denies wrongdoing in both cases, his attorney said Thursday. The Pasco-Pinellas State Attorney's Office this past spring found no evidence of criminal acts in the harassment charge. Frank Kalinowski, Pasco County School Board director of equity and employment law, said his reports into both complaints should be in the hands of superintendent John Long next week. The first allegation came in February after Zephyrhills police wired the female teacher with a hidden microphone as she confronted Belcher, a 35-year school district employee and popular guest preacher. The State Attorney's Office declined to file charges, but the woman's attorney, Jim Souza, has notified the district that his client will sue. The other allegation involves lifelong Pasco County resident Diane Glover. Although her complaints involve sexual abuse, she agreed to make her name public. Glover, 44, was a sixth-grader of Belcher's in 1968 at Lacoochee Elementary School. She told the St. Petersburg Times and Kalinowski in separate interviews that Belcher would summon her to the front of the class, seat her next to him behind a large desk, and have her read out loud. While she read, she said, Belcher would reach under her dress and fondle her. Other students couldn't see what was going on, and Glover said it happened almost daily. "I'm sitting there, trying to push his hands away; and he had a smirk on his face," she said. "I would try to find shorts to put on, something he couldn't get his hands up under. It was sickening just having to go to school in the morning." Belcher's attorney, J. Larry Hart, said Belcher preferred to have his attorney speak for him. Hart said throughout the investigation, his client has maintained his innocence. But Hart said his client's reputation is damaged every time someone makes an allegation. "He would unequivocally deny the allegations. It simply didn't happen," Hart said. "It's a classic example of accusations being made that cause their own damage irrespective of whether or not they are true. Ninety percent of the damage is done when the accusation is made publicly. You damage a person's standing in the community. You damage their reputation." Hart questioned the timing of Glover's allegations, 34 years after she said the incidents occurred. He wondered why she waited so long to come forward. Glover said she told her mother when it was happening; but in those times, people in a rural community were afraid to speak out against authority. She said they kept it from her father for fear he would do something rash and violent. Both parents have since died. As years went by, Glover said she kept it from everyone, even her first husband. When she married at 17, her husband's family had Belcher, a family friend, perform the wedding and counsel the couple on sexual relationships. She said years later, she confided to her second husband; and several years after that, she told some friends and coworkers. One friend, Fawn Hall, said she remembered Glover revealing her allegations years ago, probably about 1996 or 1997. Hall said it was a personal matter, and she did not think it her place at the time to spread what Glover had told her. Kalinowski reported that three of Glover's friends confirmed that during the past 13 years, Glover told them that she was sexually abused. Glover also made a report to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office in January 2001, more than a year before the Zephyrhills teacher's complaints reached police. In that report, Deputy Miles Darnall wrote: "I checked the statute of limitations and found that it had long since expired and no criminal acts could be charged." Hart said Glover's statements have been inconsistent. He noted the Sheriff's Office report stated she told the deputy the incidents happened a year earlier than she later claimed and that she never told anyone but her mother. Kalinowski said Glover came to the school district in June; and after consulting with the state Office of Professional Practice, which oversees teacher certification, officials decided to study her claims as a second investigation. He said he is concluding the two investigations at the same time so decisionmakers, both at the district and state level, have the whole picture before determining Belcher's professional fate. In the meantime, Belcher retains his $71,700 principal's salary. Glover said she does not intend to sue the district or Belcher, and she understands it would be difficult -- if not impossible -- to pursue criminal charges against Belcher. She said her motivation is to hold him publicly accountable. "I'm just angry at this point. I'm trying to deal with these things now, things I couldn't deal with then," she said. "Maybe I can help someone else." Souza said Glover's accounts likely would be part of his lawsuit on behalf of the teacher who says she was sexually harassed. Hart said Belcher was shocked by Glover's allegations and denies them. He said Belcher is thankful for the friends, especially those in the schools, who have stood by him. He said Belcher is not going to leave his post permanently because of the allegations. "He will continue to serve the public with dignity," Hart said. "He's not going to go quietly into that night because of these false allegations. Every finding to date has found the allegations to lack substance. The conclusions are favorable to him, but the process is beating him up."
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