Assistant principal in Huntsville arrested for sodomy
Related content:Huntsville police arrested a Lee High School assistant principal today on sodomy charges, police spokesman Wendell Johnson said.
Investigators questioned Cleavon Eason, 36, one of the school’s two assistant principals, after the parents of a 16-year-old male student filed a complaint with police.
Eason was booked in the Madison County jail on charges of first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse, said Johnson. His bond has not yet been set.
Investigators believe more students may be involved, Johnson said.
September 14th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Lee has had some issues with their principals
September 14th, 2007 at 8:47 am
IIRC, LHS had a principal busted for smoking crack (at school) a few years ago, plus they’ve got / had several teachers in rehab. I’ll bet drugs were involved here, too.
If guilty, Mr. Eason should be put away for a long time.
September 14th, 2007 at 11:53 am
I hope DA Tim Morgan (it’s ‘only oral sex’) does a better job of prosecuting this case than they did with Jerry Wayne Love.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Here’s the quote from Tim Morgan re: Jerry Wayne Love (accused of molesting three boys):
“”There is no evidence at all that anything other than oral copulation occurred,” Morgan said.”
http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stories/index.ssf?/base/news/1185617868266650.xml&coll=1
September 14th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I trhink his point was that since the only allegation was of oral sex, as opposed to anal intercourse, then there was no physical evidence such as tears, cuts, bruising, etc..
September 14th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
wayne, OK, but it was a poor choice of words - he implies evidence of oral copulation, which IMO should still have been prosecuted.
I’ve commented previously about the DA’s office believing that they had a ‘weak’ case and the boys didn’t want to testify and the guilty plea / sex offender status was the best the DA could get.
BTW, are the wayne who ran for state rep?
September 14th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Male-Male Sex Abuse
WHEN BOYS ARE MOLESTED BY TEACHERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY
And these kinds of cases are greatly under-reported. This much is certain. There are thousands of Mr. Cleavon Eason’s in a position of power/supervision in public schools right now. Some of them will be arrested and convicted this year–far too many to keep track of. Once teachers are hired and granted tenure after three years, there’s not much - barring criminal charges - that schools can do to get rid of a teacher who’s considered a risk to children.
The trouble with screening tools is that they only filter out undesirable new hires. Most of the teachers who have found themselves in trouble with the law have been in the classroom for years, sometimes decades, before any hint of trouble reached the public’s attention.
* * * *
C
September 15th, 2007 at 10:05 am
Look, I go to that school, and although Lee’s had problems in the past, you don’t know the half of it, so if I were you, I’d keep my opinions to myself. I probably know more than all of you. The principal who was busted for crack? He turned that school around for the better. He was very involved with all aspects of the school. He had a problem and that was it. Granted, it was a big problem, the fact remains that he was dedicated to Lee. The same goes for Eason. If he had a problem, we would’ve known a long time ago. He’s been working there for 12 years, so if something was up, we’d have known. Our last principal was an idiot. No one liked her. Not even the staff. She teaches Special Ed at another school now. I think some a-hole decided to set Eason up.
September 15th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Honestly, I have no idea whether or not any of you are involved with the school, but if you’re not, stay out of it, and wait for the so-called “news” to let you know.
September 15th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Jeradin,
Thanks for stopping by. I’m refraining from passing judgment on Mr. Eason for the time being until I learn more about the allegations. The fact that the police believe multiple students might be involved is a bit damning since an isolated “incident” could plausibly be a vindictive student, although I have a hard time believing that a student would potentially subject himself to considerable ridicule simply to spite an administrator. I have no personal connection or insight into Lee, but from what I’ve heard from those who do there is lots of room for improvement in the school, especially the administration.
If the allegations are true, I’m not so sure that the student body at large would have known a long time ago. Both parties have significant motivation to hide any such activity; the administrator for obvious reasons and the affected student(s) for fear of shame and humiliation. For example, think about how many years sexual abuses occurred in the Catholic church before it became public knowledge about what was happening and people who hid their abuse all that time came out in droves.
I do not, however, believe that taxpayers (including me) and parents (also including me) should “stay out of” scandals affecting public schools. It is incumbent upon citizens to maintain a watchful eye over all public institutions, not just sit back and wait for the media to tell us what they deem important. After all, they spend so much time talking about the celebutards of the day that they don’t do a terribly thorough job keeping the populace informed about important issues.
September 15th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I see your point on not staying out. However, I would appreciate it if some people would keep their opinions to themselves until they get all of the facts. No one knows who the student is that filed the complaint, so there is no way for him to be ridiculed. At Lee, nearly everyone knows everything except for the Freshman, and even a number of them are up to date. True, no one knew about the principal, however, he was only there for 2 years. Mr. Eason has been at Lee for 12 years, and he’s an alumnus. I don’t think he would ever do anything to harm the school’s reputation. True, the man does seem homosexual, but the fact remains that no one thinks he would ever do anything to harm the students. I still think that someone who’s prejudiced against homosexuals filed the complaint. It could be many things, but I think the two main possibilities are that these allegations are true, and if so, he should be put away, or it all comes down to prejudice. You have to remember. Lee is in the South, where prejudice is more abundant, although significantly less than it used to be.
September 15th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
This is “Jeradin’s” brother.
Mr. Eason is guilty.
It doesn’t matter that he’s black or homosexual in the South.
It doesn’t matter that it’s Lee High School.
They wouldn’t have been able to arrest him if they hadn’t found evidence that the event in question definitely transpired. Although it makes me sad, because Cleavon was a giant help and source of quite a bit of positive energy at Lee (he was one of few substantial positive authorities that held the school together while it underwent a great deal of turmoil over the past 3 years or so), the fact remains that he abused his power to commit a crime and violated more than a decade’s worth of trust and loyalty. This was probably the very last thing Lee High School needed right now, and I’m concerned for its well-being in the immediate future.
On another note, I will say that although Dr. Harry Smith was a big source of controversy, no one but the students who knew him really understand who he is. I was a junior under his one-year period as principal, and I can honestly say that it was the best year Lee High had seen in some time, if not ever.
He and his wife attended every sports event and competition we participated in (even robotics team, choir, drama, and dance competitions). They personally got involved with all the Magnet programs (Lee is a magnet school, consisting of Vocal, Drama, Dance, Engineering, Photo/Video, and Orchestra) in various extents, ranging from sitting in on classes and offering suggestions pertaining to activities (and doing it with the class) to actually staying ’til 1 AM during the production of the annual musical to help sew costumes, or build sets, or even watch rehearsal. The man was extraordinary in several ways, and the best principal Lee’s ever seen, and It’s a tremendous shame that it was over so quickly.
September 15th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Jeradin - first, good for you - for keeping up with issues and for offering your opinion passionately and clearly. However, note that saying “if I were you, I’d keep my opinions to myself” to someone on their own weblog is, uh, whack.
Second, there are enough facts available to comment about the crackhead principal. I feel for the guy, but he shouldn’t be near kids. And I feel for the teachers in rehab (especially one I know personally), but they shouldn’t be near kids.
Third, there are enough facts available to comment about the arrest of the assistant principal, given that he is innocent until proven guilty. As far as prejudice, you’re right to suspect the motivations of the accuser; but until the trial is over, the school cannot allow the man to be near kids. Also, Mr. Eason won’t be on trial for being gay (or not), he’ll be on trial for molesting children (people under 17).
Last, I’m an LHS grad and I might be your neighbor.
September 28th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Jeradin,
I dont know your age but I think that you write eloquently. Anyway, I am an alumnus of LHS (c/o’03) and I know Cleavon personally. I have had many encounters with him and having known him on a more personal level other than school business , I strongly doubt that the charges are valid. I truly believe that maybe he punished on the kids and the child decided to get back at him. I really hate to see this done to him. I know that he loves his job and is very dedicated to his work. Even if the charged are dropped the damage is already done and his career as an educator is over. Its so sad that someone so young could be so vindicative.