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Former Campbell teacher involved in 2012 investigation
CAMPBELL
Campbell Emails
Document
A look at the emails between a student and teacher involved in a criminal case in Campbell.
Former Campbell teacher Shannon Pavlansky-Wojtowicz will have her next court appearance May 15 on charges related to having sex with a student between December and January.
It’s a tangled case with sexual emails and questionable police work going back to 2012 that is still being unwound by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.
One city police officer has been demoted, a principal was suspended then returned, and the entire case has been handed to the BCI.
And Pavlansky-Wojtowicz, 31, of Edinburg, Pa., no longer teaches at Campbell Memorial High School.
The former math teacher first became the subject of a police investigation in October 2012 — initially as a victim of email harassment.
At that time, she reported to police that she received anonymous messages, which contained taunts, threats and sexual references, according to documents received in a public records request.
“I know you sleep with students and teachers and they pay you $500.00 [sic] to have sex with them,” one of the messages read.
Police advised Pavlansky-Wojtowicz to keep copies of the emails, and report them to school administrators, who included Principal Jacquelyn Hampton.
That 2012 case was handled by then-Detective Sgt. John Rusnak.
He was able to find that the anonymous messenger was then a 14-year-old boy in Campbell who attended the school.
Rusnak conducted no investigation into Pavlansky-Wojtowicz — a decision that was ridiculed in recent weeks by BCI, which had dug back into that 2012 case based on the new January allegations against her.
Evidence from the 2012 case appeared to show that Pavlansky-Wojtowicz had inappropriate communication with a student, and that Rusnak had that evidence, said Campbell police Chief Drew Rauzan.
“BCI asserts that a reasonable investigator should have identified the information as (inappropriate), and I wholeheartedly agree,” said Rauzan in a memo to Mayor William VanSuch.
The memo also states while opinions vary on whether Rusnak’s 2012 conduct was criminal, his “hurried” decisions “rose to the level of incompetence and needed to be addressed administratively by our department.”
A 17-year veteran police officer, Rusnak attended a disciplinary hearing March 13 where he voluntarily demoted himself from lieutenant to patrolman. He also was placed on a 30-day suspension, and is under a two-year “last chance” agreement.
Because Pavlansky-Wojtowicz’s brother is a Campbell police officer, Rauzan turned over the case to BCI and the sheriff’s Internal Affairs Division. Rauzan said the brother’s employment with the department has not affected the case.
“As the BCI reports are disseminated, the public will be fully informed of all the circumstances surrounding the ongoing teacher-student investigation at [Campbell] Memorial High School, and how all parts are connected,” Rauzan said.
Pavlansky-Wojtowicz was placed on leave in January after allegations arose that she exchanged inappropriate text messages with a student in December and January. She later resigned.
In mid-February, Pavlansky-Wojtowicz surrendered to police on a warrant for her arrest. Her initial court appearance released her on a $1,500 bond. Conditions were added Feb. 27, in which she is to have no contact with current or former students, employees and officials of the school district. She identified two family members who work within the district whom she cannot contact while school is in session.
If convicted, Pavlansky-Wojtowicz faces up to $10,000 in fines, and up to three years in prison.
Hampton, meanwhile, was placed on paid administrative leave for allegations of possible misconduct involving a minor student or students, and alleged failure to comply with the mandatory reporting requirement as defined by state law. While many observers presumed the suspension was connected to the recent Pavlansky-Wojtowicz case, it was instead linked to the 2012 case.
The principal was returned to work March 26 by Superintendent Matthew Bowen.
“As to prior allegations of possible misconduct involving a minor student(s), I am unable to conclude that the information available to me establishes any such misconduct,” said Bowen in a letter to Hampton. Bowen was appointed superintendent in late 2013.
“As to the allegation of failure to comply with mandatory reporting, I find that a matter in 2012 had been reported to local authorities by a staff member [Pavlansky] before school administrators became aware. Therefore, I cannot conclude that you failed to comply with a mandatory reporting obligation of a matter already known to the local authorities.”
Rauzan said things are different now than in 2012.
“The culture has changed so drastically under the leadership of Matt Bowen that Campbell taxpayers should feel confident that their schools are in very competent hands,” he said.
Aside from the Campbell teacher investigation, Rauzan’s letter to the mayor also stated that Rusnak spent too much time during his patrol shifts at the police department and his home. Rauzan confirmed this after he secretly installed a GPS tracking device on Rusnak’s police cruiser.
Reports are now being completed by the sheriff’s Internal Affairs Division to detail how much time the officer spent at home. Rauzan said Rusnak’s cooperation averted employment termination.
“Life is about redemption and second chances,” he said.