INDIANAPOLIS (AP) _ A divided Indiana Supreme Court has reinstated a former Muncie high school principal's misdemeanor conviction for failing to immediately report child abuse after he learned of a 16-year-old girl's report that she had been raped in a school bathroom.
Justice Steven David wrote in the majority opinion that former Muncie Central Principal Christopher Smith “dawdled, delayed, and did seemingly everything he could to not contact'' police and the Indiana Department of Child Services after the November 2010 incident.
Justices Robert Rucker and Brent Dickson dissented in the 3-2 decision issued Thursday, saying the state had failed to prove its case.
Smith was sentenced to 120 days in jail, all suspended to probation, ordered to serve 100 hours of community service and to pay a $100 fine and court costs.
