“Molestation suit against principal cites text messages.” Arizona Daily Star, 8/16/2009
One text message sent to a teenager's cell phone asked, in effect: What can I do so what happened is never spoken about?
Another message said: I just want forgiveness, please.
The teen and a former teacher who saved copies of that text and other brief messages say they were sent by a school principal who was also pastor of the teen's church.
The former student alleges in a lawsuit that Randy S. Musgrove used his position as principal and pastor to sexually molest and harass her starting when she was 14. She told police he bought her a cell phone and offered cash to keep her from telling anyone, a police report says.
Musgrove denies the allegations and has not been charged with a crime. None of the 20 text messages that have surfaced in the case admit any sexual conduct.
Musgrove was pastor of Tucson's Hope Chapel, a church located at the Lakeside campus of La Paloma Academy, 8140 E. Golf Links Road. He has since moved to Phoenix and become principal of Liberty Traditional Charter School...
Musgrove could not be reached for comment. His Tucson attorney, Jack Redhair, did not return calls. But Robert Berk, the attorney representing La Paloma Academy in the suit, said Musgrove "vociferously and categorically" denies the allegations and that the school supports him in his defense.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants, which also include La Paloma Academy, Hope Chapel and Musgrove's wife, who worked as a teacher's aide, knew or should have known the molestation was occurring and should have prevented it.
"The school's position is that if these allegations are true — if the sex molestation occurred — the school had no reason to believe it was occurring," Berk said.
Musgrove's relationship with the alleged victim when she was at La Paloma drew the attention of Shari Brown, who testified she found it inappropriate that he gave the teen rides in his car and paid for pizza, a pedicure and other things.
Brown spent nearly 20 years as a Tucson police officer. After she retired from law enforcement, she taught fourth grade for a year at the Lakeside campus, then got to know the alleged victim after leaving that job.
Around October or November of 2007, the young woman called Brown and revealed she'd been involved in "some stuff with a married man," the ex-detective testified in a deposition last April.
Brown asked if it was Randy Musgrove and the woman said yes, then confirmed it was "sexual stuff" but not sexual intercourse, Brown testified.
Brown said she reported the matter to the teen's legal guardian, who said she would notify police. But the family held off doing so because the teen was concerned about the impact on the Musgrove family, the school and church, Brown testified...
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“Police: Boy tried to poison classmates.” Arizona Daily Sun, 4/24/2008
PHOENIX (AP) — Tucson police have arrested a 10-year-old boy who allegedly put pills in a carton of juice and tried to get two classmates to drink it.
The boy was in the custody of a guardian and is charged as a juvenile with one felony count of poisoning food, drink or medicine, Tucson police Sgt. Mark Robinson said Thursday.
He said the La Paloma Academy student put various pills in pineapple-orange juice Wednesday morning and offered it to a 12-year-old boy, who was warned there were drugs in the drink by another student.
The 10-year-old then offered the drink to a girl of the same age, who also was warned about the tainted juice and didn't drink it, Robinson said.
A call to school Principal Jackie Trujillo-Watins was not immediately returned Thursday.
Six types of pills were found in the juice, in the school yard and in a trash can, Robinson said. It's unclear how many of them were in the juice.
Robinson said two of the pills were prescription medications that, if taken by somebody other than the patient they were prescribed to, lowers the blood pressure and decreases the heart rate to a potentially dangerous level.
While he said those effects could be more harmful for a child, he said there's no indication they would be life-threatening.
Robinson said the possible effects of a third prescription medication were unknown, as were the effects of the fourth type of pill — likely over-the-counter pain medication — and the other two types of pills, which were purple and yellow tablets.
Police said it's unclear what the student's motive was in bringing the pills to school and trying to get other students to ingest them.
"It could have been extremely serious," Robinson said. "I think the school administration took quick action on it and limited the other kids' exposure to this attempt to pass around tainted juice."
