System of Silence
How some Arkansas schools shield abusers and silence victims
Jan 21, 2025
Sexual assault and bullying are on the rise in schools across the nation. Stories of school officials covering up these crimes are flooding the news and social media outlets, but what happens to parents who speak out against the schools to expose these crimes? They are bullied, ignored and in some cases, the Department of Human Services (DHS) has even been weaponized and sent to the parent’s home. Laws, policies and procedures are in place to protect the rights of students and parents, but they are being ignored with zero penalty to the administrators and school boards. The sad part is that school administrators keep the perpetrators in school, claiming every child has a “right to an education”, but ignore the rights of the innocent victims. School boards are being controlled and manipulated by superintendents with their own agendas, while taxpayers are silenced when they want to voice their concerns at public school board meetings. Teachers are terrified to speak up on issues for fear of reprisal, especially now that the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act has been repealed. If the Department of Education does not do its job to hold these schools accountable, maybe it is time we abolish not only the US Department of Education but also the Arkansas Department of Education.
Countless official records obtained through the courts and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests reveal an alarming crisis within the Arkansas public school system. Whether the negligence is or is not intentional, crimes are being ignored and covered up. Worse yet, they have even counter-sued parents for exposing the truth. How does the largest tax-funded entity have so much power that they can silence the very people who entrust them to educate their children?
Across Arkansas, many parents have been fighting a losing battle against corrupt school districts. Ashley Hardee, a mother of a young teen at Quitman School District (Arkansas), recently addressed the Arkansas State Board of Education during the public comments section of their meeting on December 12, 2024, about how the school administrators and staff at Quitman School District covered up and even failed to report her daughter’s sexual harassment by another student while at school, (watch her comments here at the 2:04 mark). According to an email obtained from Mr. Hardee, he requested an opportunity to address the Quitman School Board about how his daughter’s sexual harassment case was being handled by the school, but his request was denied by Superintendent Dennis Truxler. 
Ashley also stated that when Cleburne County Prosecutor Daniel Haney was given the evidence to press charges against her daughter’s alleged abuser, he failed to interview the male student, so the investigation was dropped by Arkansas State Police for Crimes Against Children. When the parents realized their chances to seek justice at the local level wouldn’t happen, they sought help from the state. After requesting an investigation from the Department of Education Professional Licensure Standards Board (PLSB) for ethics violations against Michael Stacks and Dennis Truxler for not investigating the sexual harassment of her daughter, it was denied twice until Ashley spoke publicly to the Arkansas State Board of Education (see link above with her statement). On January 3rd, 2025, the PLSB voted unanimously to investigate Superintendent Dennis Truxler for denying the parents the right to address the Quitman School Board and Assistant Superintendent/High School Principal Michael Stacks for shutting off security cameras during a meeting with the victim’s father and then slamming a window closed in his face. The Quitman School District is now under a Federal Title IX investigation by the Office of Civil Rights for failing to start an investigation into the sexual harassment of the student.
In the England school district, the sexual assault of two young female students is ringing the alarm bell on a pattern of carelessness by school administrators and staff. The first victim is a young teen who was allegedly brutally raped for four months while attending the district’s Alternate Learning Environment (ALE) school. The alleged crime happened in a tornado shelter room with a broken door lock. Lonoke County Deputy Prosecutor, Samantha Kassen, found enough evidence to charge the boy, but during the trial, while under oath, the assistant principal Trent Morgan and resource officer Eric Caffey allegedly lied and stated that the lock was never broken, even opining the girl was lying about the rape. The parents believed these two school employees lied because, through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) documents, they found a receipt showing the lock on the shelter door was repaired after the case went to trial.
The boy was unfortunately acquitted.
In a terrifying, recent turn of events, the male student’s girlfriend was just found dead in his home from an alleged gunshot wound to her chest. This case is currently being investigated by the Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office.
After the boy was acquitted, the parents and an investigator sent evidence implicating the school’s
coverup to Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham, which he completely disregarded. Sadly, Graham has a history of ignoring evidence when it involves local school districts. When citizen Jimmie Cavin presented evidence to Mr. Graham that the Cabot School Board violated the law, he not only disregarded the evidence but also threatened to fine Mr. Cavin for exercising his rights as a taxpayer and citizen. Consequently, for Mr. Graham, Cabot School Board was found guilty on multiple counts of violating the law by a Lonoke County District Judge. The PLSB was provided with the same evidence supplied to Prosecutor Chuck Graham by the victim’s family and they also declined to investigate the England School District without disclosing a reason. A Federal Title IX investigation was finally opened by the Federal Office of Civil Rights on the England School District for failing to investigate the alleged sex crimes and for committing disability harassment (the school allegedly failed to create a safety plan for the victim and abide by her 504 plan which legally requires schools to create a safe and barrier-free space for children to learn in).
The second case in the England School District happened in December of 2024 to another young teenage girl by a male relative of the alleged abuser mentioned before. According to the victim’s mother, the England School District Superintendent Mark Price told the mother there wasn’t enough video evidence of the sexual assault to initiate a Title IX investigation. Mr. Price even told the victim’s mother not to file a Title IX investigation herself. The mother claims there are cameras everywhere on campus and that the teen boy recorded the alleged sexual assault and is sharing it on Snapchat with other students. How can this happen repeatedly in such a small school district without any accountability for the actions of school administrators and staff?
In a recent turn of events, a young man by the name of Austin Burnett was just arrested for rape, soliciting a minor, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in Cabot, AR. 
As this information became public, stories from Mr. Burnett’s classmates began circulating social media, recounting their varied experiences, some horrifying, while in school with him. In 2019, Austin was a student at Cabot Junior High North. After Kaylie DeLong came forward with allegations of sexual harassment, Mr. Burnett was investigated by Arkansas Crimes Against Children. According to the victim’s mother, Honey Lynch, Austin was charged with sexually aggressive behavior against 43 boys and girls within the Cabot School District. Sadly, police told the victim’s mother they would not place him on the sex offender’s registry list because he was a minor. Subsequently, Austin Burnett was placed in the Alternate Learning Environment (ALE) school by the Cabot school administration and school board. The following school year, the school administration transferred Austin to Junior High South without notifying any of the victim’s families. According to Honey Lynch, this news came as a shock seeing as several of Mr. Burnett’s victims attended this school, including the victim’s younger sister. When parents questioned Cabot Assistant Superintendent Michael Byrd as to why Mr. Burnett was allowed back into school after being charged with 43 counts of aggressive sexual behavior, he replied that he (Austin) had a “right to an education” like everyone else. But what about his victims? Didn’t they have a right to a safe learning environment, free from seeing their abuser every day?
Kaylie DeLong, one of the many victims, feels very strongly that Austin should have received mental intervention after he was found guilty. Kaylie stated that “everyone” knew he was depressed, had poor self-esteem and was sexually aggressive, yet instead of the school helping Austin, they swept his issues under the rug. This case is a great example of what happens when schools ignore sexual harassment and bullying. When school administrators ignore these problems, the victims are not able to heal from their trauma and the offenders are not able to get the intervention they so desperately need. Additionally, schools have an obligation to protect the potential victims innocently walking the halls of every school in the district.
In a bold move, Kaylie took to social media after Austin’s arrest was made public. In her post, Kaylie bravely detailed the events that changed her life forever. This young woman’s willingness to take a stand, not only for herself but the 42 other victims, should inspire each and every one of us to speak up and speak out for truth and justice. When our elected officials choose to hide the truth, we must take a stand together to uncover what has been hidden. As quickly as Kaylie shared her story on social media, her post was deleted from one of the Cabot Facebook groups. 
I contacted one of the administrators from the “Cabot Strong” Facebook page and was informed that an employee from Cabot’s administration office (not a principal as stated in the message) contacted them and requested they remove the post because a victim of Mr. Burnett was being bullied because of the post. Even though no victims were named in Kaylie’s post, nor did any parents contact the page administrators, it seems strange the school district would request the post to be removed. When will these schools start standing with the victims, instead of trying to silence them?
Parents and taxpayers must demand more from the elected officials overseeing our school districts as well as our local and state authorities. The days of local police, elected prosecutors, and the state education system ignoring the crimes being committed against our children must come to an end. If a young victim can publicly stand up to her abuser and the system that shielded him, shouldn’t we all stop turning a blind eye to the glaring crisis plaguing our school system and start holding those in power accountable?
(Stay tuned for part 2 detailing schools covering up bullying and harassment while punishing the victims)
Missy is the author of “Crushed, but Not Broken”, a story detailing her daughter’s diagnosis and her family’s fight with CNS HLH. She has a passion to improve education and help children with disabilities receive the education and respect they deserve. Missy and her husband are AF veterans and have 4 children.
praying for you all!!! thank you for taking a stand.
Thank you!!
This article is why I read Arkansas 1st. This is news that is not available from other sources. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for mentioning that. It’s very sad that major news organizations are not reporting on education, which is the largest tax fundied entity!
I have a male family member that is unfortunately a victim in another Quitman cover-up. He was a Junior High football player. He, along with some of his young teammates, were hazed and sexually assaulted by some of the Senior High players in the locker room. They endured the abuse almost the entire school year because they wanted to play football so bad. They were then failed by their head coach & staff, principal, superintendent, teachers, school board members, School Resource Officer–ya know, all of those MANDATED reporters–AND, the prosecuting attorney. I likely left someone out, there were so many failures! Thankfully, the judge saw throught the BS & delivered some semblance of justice. But, it’s eerily similar to these other stories. So much cover-up, sweeping it under the rug, refusing to meet with parents, not allowing parents to speak at school board meetings, not interviewing key people–not even the victims before they went to court. Our children are our greatest resource and we have these supposed “leaders” who chose these professions of teaching & shaping & molding these brilliant young minds, unwilling to protect them at all. What does this say about people…individually and as a whole?! What does it say about our society?! Thank goodness there are still some parents willing to stand up against the “system” regardless of the pushback, regardless of the threats, regardless of the retaliatory lawsuits. WHY? Because they love their kiddos, they believe in them, they’ve got their backs, and at the end of the day, family is what remains!! And, thank goodness there are victim advocates out there that have seen, and sometimes unfortunately, lived through, the injustices that are being perpetrated on the children. Who better to help out than someone who has been down the same road. So, all you warriors, keep fighting. Whether it be on the front lines in the courtroom, locked arm-in-arm with your child, at the school board meeting making your presence known, at the Dept of Education meeting, or down on your knees in prayer– It’s gonna take us all. Stay strong, warriors!I have a male family member that is unfortunately a victim in the Quitman cover-up. He was a Junior High football player.
He, along with some of his young teammates, were hazed and sexually assaulted by some of the Senior High players in the locker room. They endured the abuse almost the entire school year because they wanted to play football so bad. They were then failed by their head coach & staff, principal, superintendent, teachers, school board members, SRO–ya know, all of those mandated reporters–AND, the prosecuting attorney. I likely left someone out, there were so many failures! Thankfully, the judge saw throught the BS & delivered some semblance of justice. But, it’s eerily similar to these other stories. So much cover-up, sweeping it under the rug, refusing to meet with parents, not allowing parents to speak at school board meetings, not interviewing key people–even the victims. Our children are our greatest resource and we have these supposed “leaders” who chose these professions of teaching & shaping & molding these young minds, unwilling to protect them at all. What does this say about people…individually and as a whole?! What does it say about our society?! I have a male family member that is unfortunately a victim in the Quitman cover-up. He was a Junior High football player.
He, along with some of his young teammates, were hazed and sexually assaulted by some of the Senior High players in the locker room. They endured the abuse almost the entire school year because they wanted to play football so bad. They were then failed by their head coach & staff, principal, superintendent, teachers, school board members, SRO–ya know, all of those mandated reporters–AND, the prosecuting attorney. I likely left someone out, there were so many failures! Thankfully, the judge saw throught the BS & delivered some semblance of justice. But, it’s eerily similar to these other stories. So much cover-up, sweeping it under the rug, refusing to meet with parents, not allowing parents to speak at school board meetings, not interviewing key people–even the victims. Our children are our greatest resource and we have these supposed “leaders” who chose these professions of teaching & shaping & molding these young minds, unwilling to protect them at all. What does this say about people…individually and as a whole?! What does it say about our society?! I have a male family member that is unfortunately a victim in another Quitman cover-up. He was a Junior High football player. He, along with some of his young teammates, were hazed and sexually assaulted by some of the Senior High players in the locker room. They endured the abuse almost the entire school year because they wanted to play football so bad. They were then failed by their head coach & staff, principal, superintendent, teachers, school board members, School Resource Officer–ya know, all of those MANDATED reporters–AND, the prosecuting attorney. I likely left someone out, there were so many failures! Thankfully, the judge saw throught the BS & delivered some semblance of justice. But, it’s eerily similar to these other stories. So much cover-up, sweeping it under the rug, refusing to meet with parents, not allowing parents to speak at school board meetings, not interviewing key people–not even the victims before they went to court. Our children are our greatest resource and we have these supposed “leaders” who chose these professions of teaching & shaping & molding these brilliant young minds, unwilling to protect them at all. What does this say about people…individually and as a whole?! What does it say about our society?! Thank goodness there are still some parents willing to stand up against the “system” regardless of the pushback, regardless of the threats, regardless of the retaliatory lawsuits. WHY? Because they love their kiddos, they believe in them, they’ve got their backs, and at the end of the day, family is what remains!! And, thank goodness there are victim advocates out there that have seen, and sometimes unfortunately, lived through, the injustices that are being perpetrated on the children. Who better to help out than someone who has been down the same road. So, all you warriors, keep fighting. Whether it be on the front lines in the courtroom, locked arm-in-arm with your child, at the school board meeting making your presence known, at the Dept of Education meeting, or down on your knees in prayer– It’s gonna take us all. Stay strong, warriors!
Crystal, thank you for your comment. I was going to put those young men’s case in my next article since the school members are trying to counter sue. Please email me at [email protected] I’d love to interview you!