Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members dodge questions about hidden sexual assault data

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education members refused to answer questions about registries detailing reports of sexual violence on campuses, weeks after a WBTV investigation revealed the existence of such registries.

CMS attorneys and spokespeople argued that such records did not exist – including under oath in court proceedings – until a WBTV reporter obtained a copy of the records detailing sexual violence recorded between 2010 and 2015.

Previous: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said there was no record of sexual assault. Documents show this is not true.

WBTV first requested the data in 2021 as part of a multi-year investigation into how the district handles reported sexual violence. These documents are currently the subject of a public records lawsuit the station has filed against the school district.

When the application was first submitted, only two members of the current school board held elected positions. However, the current board discussed WBTV’s revelations and records in a closed session.

However, the management has not issued any public statement or published new data.

Previous: Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board doubles down on secret data

A WBTV reporter emailed each board member with four questions about the records. No board member responded.

When a WBTV crew tried to personally ask board members for comments before a recent school board meeting, board members refused to respond.

Board member Lisa Cline said she couldn’t talk because she was preparing for the board meeting.

Board member Monty Witherspoon looked straight at the reporter when asking a question, then looked away as if he hadn’t heard him.

Board members Dee Rankin, Summer Nunn and Cline hid under the podium after a reporter asked them questions.

Previous: CMS did not track reported rapes and assaults on campus

As board members continue to remain silent, board attorneys have doubled down on their previous statements regarding the existence of the records.

Hope Root, the board’s attorney, wrote in an email to WBTV’s attorney that an affidavit from CMS general counsel Andre Mayes claiming no records existed was “true and accurate.”

Mayes herself has previously refused to answer questions about her sworn testimony, saying there are no records detailing reports of sexual violence in CMS schools.

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