ROSSFORD, Ohio — A new report on the investigation into former Rossford assistant superintendent Pat Murtha reveals "overwhelmingly convincing" complaints from students that he had a habit of touching female students - particularly on their hair and shoulders.
"Mr. Murtha's complete denial of this conduct is not believable," the report written by Rossford Civil Rights Compliance Officer Megan Spangler said.
Spangler interviewed 12 students, 10 Rossford employees and one parent as part of the investigation. Complaints of harassment were made by three female high school students against Murtha in early February. Prinicpal Tony Brashear fielded those complaints.
Students' complaints
One student complainant said she came into contact with Murtha "almost daily," and explained that Murtha "will often pinch or pull her nose, tug on her ears, or 'rub her hair' or 'mess it [her hair] up,'" Spangler's report said.
The student estimated that Murtha touched her ears, hair or nose a total of 40 times since mid-year in the 2017-18 school year. She also said Murtha occasionally would take her food without asking.
She was "embarrassed by Mr. Murtha's conduct and feels uncomfortable around Mr. Murtha," the report said.
A second student said Murtha made her feel uncomfortable because of comments and jokes he made. She said that Murtha would stand very close to her and touch her hair, and on once occasion as he turned away "his hand grazed across her entire buttocks."
A third student stated that Murtha touched her a "handful" of times, describing the touching as a massaging of her shoulders and playing with her hair. She said she would have to move forward to stop the touching from happening.
The third student also "caught Mr. Murtha looking down her shirt or looking at her chest area when she has worn something low-cut," the report continues. On one occasion, he told her she "looked hot," Spangler's report said.
Spangler wrote that though she concludes Murtha's behavior was harassing, it was not sexual harassment because students didn't describe it as affecting their academic performances.
Several students who didn't lodge formal complaints with Principal Brashear, but who were interviewed by Spangler, described observing Murtha "staring at their 'private' areas of their body when wearing leggings or their chest area when wearing low-cut shirts. One student's words were "he [Murtha] looks at girls inappropriately; no other teachers do that," according to Spangler's report.
Another said that she keeps a hoodie in her backpack to wear over a V-neck shirt in the office so that "Murtha doesn't look," the report said.
Staff observations
Spangler said in her report that Rossford staff members "appeared extremely hesitant to provide complete interviews due to apparent and expressed concerns of retaliation by Mr. Murtha."
As assistant principal, Murtha was responsible for evaluating several staff members.
"Nevertheless, there were staff members who corroborated the conduct described by students," Spangler wrote. "One front office staff member recalled observing Mr. Murtha rubbing the shoulders of a female student last school year. She was confused by Mr. Murtha's behavior, as she did not think it was professional to touch students, particularly that way."
Additional concerns
The investigation also revealed two additional areas of concern, according to the report.
First a front office employee described an incident where Murtha drove a student home in his personal vehicle, which is a violation of Rossford school board policy. In his interview, Murtha admitted his conduct violated board policy.
A second concern was that Murtha said he had dozens of students' cell phone numbers saved in his phone.
He said he was unaware that the district has a cell phone or social media policy as it relates to contacts with students.
Report conclusions
Spangler wrote that the testimony from students was "overwhelmingly convincing in that Mr. Murtha has a habit of touching female students - particularly on their hair and shoulders."
She also wrote that Murtha's credibility "was further eroded by the fact that he denied literally every allegation of misconduct except for the one piece of information that was leaked to him by a parent-friend during the investigation."
"I find that it is more likely than not that Mr. Murtha made repeated physical contacts with all three Complainants which was prohibited under Poard Policy 5517 - Anti-Harassment," Spangler wrote.
"... Although the above detailed behavior plainly constitutes misconduct under Board Policy, it becomes further defined as 'sexual harassment' when the conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering with the individual's work or educational performance; of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working and/or learning environment; or of interfering with one's ability to participate in or benefit from a class. ...
"The Complainants ... described feeling uncomfortable by Mr. Murtha touching them, but they did not describe conduct that was so severe, persistent, or pervasive that it interfered with their educational performance or that it created a hostile work environment," Spangler wrote.
"For this reason, I conclude that Mr. Murtha's conduct ... constitutes misconduct pursuant to Board Policy 5517 - Anti-Harassment, but does not constitute sexual harassment as strictly defined under Board Policy," Spangler wrote.
Murtha's resignation and contract
Murtha resigned April 22 and the Rossford Schools Board unanimously approved his resignation and transition agreement.
While Murtha has resigned and is no longer working, his contract with the district continues until July 31.
According to public records, he was making an annual salary of about $91,686.
The approved transition agreement stated that there is no record of disciplinary nature in Murtha's personnel file. Murtha still had access to the board's property and it was stated the board will provide a letter of reference.
School leaders said at the time that the current high school principal would take over Patrick Murtha’s duties for the remainder of the year as the board searches for his replacement.
