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Doe Parents No. 1 v. State11/27/2002
ometime in November, when James Schlosser was appointed Mokapu's principal. HPD Detective Tejada first contacted the school with respect to T.Y.'s allegations on October 11, 1991; Detective Tejada informed Estomago that he would be interviewing both Norton and T.Y. in connection with his investigation of the matter. The detective cautioned Estomago that Norton should not remain in the classroom pending the criminal investigation. However, "surprised" that the HPD was investigating the matter and believing T.Y.'s allegations to be false, Estomago surmised that the detective's admonition was based upon caution rather than necessity (insofar as Tejada had not yet investigated the matter), disregarded the detective's suggestion, and did not communicate it to any of her superiors.
The following week, on October 18, 1991, Estomago first informed her superior -- the DOE's Deputy District Superintendent, Jacqueline Heupel --of the HPD's investigation; Heupel instructed Estomago not to discuss the incident further. However, on October 30, 1991, Estomago contacted Deputy Attorney General Russell Suzuki, as well as the DOE's Personnel Director, Sugino, because a school counselor had received a telephone call from a parent regarding T.Y.'s allegations. Yet, when Schlosser became Mokapu's principal in November, neither Estomago nor anyone else informed him that the HPD was investigating Norton or that T.Y. had accused him of molesting her. Meanwhile, Norton remained teaching, and the DOE granted him tenure on January 22, 1992, while the HPD's investigation was still pending. Indeed, according to Estomago, "nothing more happened or was said about" the matter from mid-October 1991 until Norton was indicted in mid-February 1992.
b. Sosa's "district-level" investigation
An indictment in the T.Y. case was returned on February 19, 1992, which, as we have noted, accused Norton of committing third degree sexual assault. According to Sosa, at around the time of the indictment, he obtained "jurisdiction" over the DOE's administrative investigation into Norton's alleged misconduct.
Sosa had learned of the indictment as the result of a media inquiry late in the afternoon of February 19, 1992. Shortly thereafter, he discussed the situation with Donald Nugent, the DOE's Assistant Superintendent of Personnel Services, and, subsequently that evening, with District Personnel Specialist Gordon.
Gordon had learned of the indictment as a result of Sugino's inquiries that afternoon. After unsuccessful attempts to contact Schlosser and Estomago, Gordon spoke with Mokapu's former principal, Ching, who related that Estomago "had investigated the incident" and that Estomago's "investigation indicated that the accusation was unfounded." Ching asserted that she believed the military CID had investigated the matter and had "dropped" it. Even so, Ching informed Gordon that, " o be on the safe side," T.Y. had been transferred to another fourth grade class and that T.Y.'s mother "seemed to be satisfied" with this solution.
Because Sosa and Gordon were unable, despite their repeated attempts, to contact Schlosser until later that evening, Sosa instructed Gordon to contact Norton directly and to inform him that he would be placed on administrative leave. Gordon promptly did so. Shortly after 7:00 p.m., Sosa succeeded in contacting Schlosser and discussed with him what "steps to take regarding school, parents, teachers[,] and students, and the need to review records with" Estomago.
Estomago first learned of the indictment from Schlosser, and her reaction was one of "horror" because she "believed in heart that there was nothing that had transpired[.]" When Schlosser le
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