Del. Mike Cherry is asking Virginia State Police to investigate an alleged cover up at Colonial Heights Public Schools
Mike Cherry represents Colonial Heights in the House of Delegates.
This is a daily newsletter covering Virginia politics from top to bottom. Please consider becoming the ultimate political insider by supporting non-partisan, independent news and becoming a paid subscriber to this newsletter today.
Have a tip? You can reply to this email, or email me directly at Brandon@virginiascope.com
Cherry calls for an investigation
by Brandon Jarvis
Del. Mike Cherry (R-Colonial Heights) is asking the Virginia State Police to investigate the handling of accusations against the former police chief in Colonial Heights, Jeff Faries. Faries was investigated by Virginia State Police for alleged inappropriate behavior towards the players on the school softball team he was coaching. Charges ultimately were not filed due to a delay in reporting the incidents and one former employee of Colonial Heights Public Schools says the reports were swept under the rug by school officials.
“I am ever mindful of the trust that the public places in our school system,” Cherry said Thursday. “Families are concerned by the lack of action and answers by school officials. Colonial Heights parents must feel confident that their children are safe both in the classroom and at extracurricular activities. Recent reports have resulted in an erosion of that trust, and it is only right that an outside entity thoroughly investigate any and all claims of a cover up and determine whether school officials acted in bad faith.”
Context:
Faries resigned from his positions as police chief and softball coach for the school district earlier this year. He was an employee of the school district in his position as a coach.
Emails between a special prosecutor investigating Faries and the Colonial Heights City Attorney show that the investigation into the former police chief resulted in no charges due to a delay in reporting the incidents to police, not a lack of evidence.
According to the special prosecutor assigned to the case, Lynchburg’s Commonwealth Attorney Bethany Harrison, the allegations occurred between January 2021 and May 2021. The statute of limitations for these specific charges is one year, meaning charges cannot be pressed more than a year after the alleged incident occurred.
According to Harrison, a member of the Colonial Heights City Council first contacted Virginia State Police about the alleged incident on March 2, 2022. Police then investigated the allegations throughout the month of March. The Colonial Heights Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office assigned Harrison as the special prosecutor on May 17, 2022, and she first met with a special agent from VSP on May 31, 2022. By this time, the one-year statute of limitations on charging for these allegations was up, Harrison says. However, responding by email to questions from Virginia Scope on Thursday, Harrison noted that her documents show that Colonial Heights Public Schools officials were notified of the allegations a year earlier in May 2021.
Colonial Heights Public Schools Superintendent William Sroufe told Virginia Scope in September that he learned of the allegations in February of 2022 and that Faries resigned from his position as a coach with the public schools on Feb. 8, 2022.
News did not break until March 3, 2022 that Colonial Heights officially requested an investigation by Virginia State Police “into allegations of inappropriate behavior and interactions in an off-duty capacity.” It was also announced on that day that Faries was placed on administrative leave from his job as police chief by the city manager.
Faries officially retired as police chief on March 31, 2022.
According to documents obtained by Virginia Scope using a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Harrison sent a letter to a member of the Colonial Heights City Council on Sept. 12 of this year explaining why she is unable to press charges against Faries for certain allegations.
“Because of the delay in reporting these matters to law enforcement for a criminal investigation, we are beyond the statute of limitations to charge the applicable misdemeanor(s) from these events,” Harrison wrote in the letter. “If further evidence is developed, we can re-open this matter and may be able proceed with select misdemeanors as certain sexual offenses committed against a minor may be prosecuted up to 5 years after the minor reaches the age of 18 years old.”
Harrison does not say the specific charge or charges she was investigating. “I looked into the case to determine if any felony offenses applied or if the evidence rose to the level of probable cause for select misdemeanors that have a longer statute of limitations. I found that the evidence was not sufficient for one of those criminal offenses,” Harrison said in a statement to Virginia Scope Thursday.
On Sept. 19, 2022, at 12:08 pm, Colonial Heights City Attorney Hugh Fisher asked for clarification from Harrison over email. This interaction was also obtained by Virginia Scope through a FOIA request.
“Thank you for sending Dr. Sroufe the attached letter. However, on behalf of Dr. Sroufe and the City of Colonial Heights, I respectfully request the following clarification to your letter,” Fisher wrote in an email to Harrison. “It appears that you are saying that there is evidence that former Chief Faries committed a misdemeanor or misdemeanors but that the statute of limitations has expired, thus foreclosing your office from prosecuting him for those crimes. Is that what you are saying?”
Harrison responded two minutes later. “Your interpretation is correct.”
Harrison also told Virginia Scope that her office now considers this case closed.
After denying having any knowledge of the allegations being reported to school officials in May 2021, Sroufe said that he cannot comment on personnel issues. “It’s a personnel issue, I can’t comment at all.”
WTVR reported earlier this week that Alicia Allen says she notified school officials of inappropriate behavior from Faries in April and May of 2021 and that feels it was swept under the rug. Allen was an assistant softball coach.
Allen said Faries made unwanted physical contact with her and that she witnessed him do the same thing to some of the girls on the team. "He would brush up against their backs, pull them close to him, put his arm around their shoulder, be just below their lower back line, he would kiss them on the forehead," Allen said in a quote to WTVR.
Allen informed Virginia Scope of these same instances during a phone call recently.
“The most recent news stories concerning Colonial Heights High School are troubling,” Cherry said Thursday. “Any claim of a cover up by school staff must be taken seriously. After thoroughly discussing the matter with city leadership and hearing directly from constituents, I have asked the State Police to investigate this matter.”
View the letter that Cherry sent to VSP.
Read the full coverage of Allen detailing her experience.