Case of Michael Scott Wheeler
(AKA: Michael Wheeler, Michael S. Wheeler, Mike Wheeler)
Algebra Teacher - Tucson Hebrew Academy, Tucson, AZ
Holland, MI
Convicted on two counts of child abuse The survivors included three boys - two 12 year olds and a 10-year-old. If you have any more information about this case, please contact The Awareness Center.
NOTE: There are several people by the name of Michael Scott Wheeler. The one discussed on this page was born on January 11, 1962.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet their own personal needs.
Table of Contents:
1993
- 3 boys report abuse; police arrest teacher (09/10/1993)
1995
- Sentencing (06/25/1995)
- Lawsuit claims school negligent (09/12/1995)
2013
- Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry (10/19/2013)
_________________________________________________________________________________
3 boys report abuse; police arrest teacher
The Arizona Daily Star - September 10, 1993
A teacher at a private school on the city's eastside was arrested Wednesday on charges that he molested and abused three of his pupils, police said.
Michael Scott Wheeler, 31, was arrested on the campus of the Tucson Hebrew Academy, 5550 E. Fifth St., on charges of child abuse and child molestation, police said.
Wheeler, of the 1000 block of North Camino Seco, was taken to the Pima County Jail, where he was released yesterday, a jail spokeswoman said. The conditions of his release were not available from the jail yesterday.
Police said they went to the small private school Wednesday afternoon after a pupil reported an incident that occurred on the school grounds earlier in the day, Spillman said.
Police say three boys - two 12 year olds and a 10-year-old - claim that the molestations and abuse have occurred over a year.
Wheeler was placed on paid administrative leave after his arrest.
About 150 pupils attend the school, which teaches first through eighth grades, said Gerald Barkan, the school's director.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Sentencing
The Arizona Daily Star - June 25, 1995
These are sentencings in Pima County Superior Court. The last name is the sentencing judge....
Michael Scott Wheeler, two counts of child abuse, 6 mos. in jail, 4 yrs. probation, $200 to Victims Fund, shall participate in Sex Offender Supervision Program, abide by all conditions imposed by the program, notify any business or organization which sponsors activities in which adults supervise children, when volunteering or applying for a job, participate in counseling programs, shall participate in treatment and/or training programs, Houghton.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Lawsuit claims school negligent
By Rhonda Bodfield
Tucson Citizen - September 12, 1995
It says Tucson Hebrew Academy should have checked out teacher who molested boys.
A local couple have filed suit against the Tucson Hebrew Academy, alleging the school was negligent in hiring a teacher who was predisposed toward child molestation and abuse.
The couple, who emigrated from Ukraine just months before the alleged Sept. 8, 1993, molestation, claim their son, now 15, has been left with permanent and severe emotional, physical and psychological distress.
The Tucson Citizen is not publishing the family’s name, to protect the juvenile’s identity.
Dr. Gerald Barkan, director of the academy at 5550 E. Fifth St., refused comment, saying he had not yet been served with the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses the boy’s then-eighth-grade algebra teacher, Michael Scott Wheeler, of forcing him to pull down his pants in the school cafeteria, which at the time was deserted.
`Under the guise of discipline’
The lawsuit accuses Wheeler, 35, of then beating the boy with a stick and ordering him to masturbate, molesting him “under the guise of discipline’ when the boy refused.
The lawsuit states Wheeler then followed the boy into a bathroom, forced him into a stall and again ordered him to masturbate.
During the criminal trial of the case, the family produced pictures of the boy’s bruised and punctured buttocks, alleging the stick he was beaten with had exposed staples in it.
“Our allegation is, they should have done a background check,’ said the couple’s attorney, David Alan Darby.
“If they had gone through the normal channels of the Tucson Unified School District or the Tucson Police Department, they would have seen he was investigated for this type of behavior in the past.’
Teacher investigated in 1990
Darby said criminal records show that in 1990, Wheeler was investigated after another then-13-year-old boy accused him of molesting him after he spent the night at his house in preparation for a camping trip.
No arrests were made at the time.
Last June, Wheeler was sentenced to six months in jail and four years’ probation for two counts of child abuse involving the boys.
He also was ordered to participate in the Sex Offender Supervision Program.
The couple are suing the school on eight counts, including the loss of their son’s companionship and affection, infliction of emotional distress, negligence and false imprisonment.
They are seeking unspecified damages, medical expenses for continuing psychological treatment, punitive damages and court costs.
During the criminal trial, police officers testified they had responded to the couple’s home on domestic violence calls.
Their former apartment manager also testified he evicted the family because their son bullied other children in the complex.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Michigan Public Sex Offender Registry
October 19, 2013
_________________________________________________________________________________
FAIR USE NOTICE
Some of the information on The Awareness Center's web pages may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.
We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml . If you wish to use copyrighted material from this update for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." –– Margaret Mead
_________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment