Mar 5, 2009 6:07 am US/Eastern
Tiny N.J. Rape Victim's Mother Lashes Out
Tells CBS 2 HD She's Furious About Lack Of Background Check For Elementary School Employee
Daughter, 7, Raped Numerous Times In School
IRVINGTON, N.J. (CBS) ―
In an interview you will not see anywhere else, CBS 2 HD spoke to the mother of a little girl that was sexually attacked, repeatedly, in an Irvington, N.J., elementary school.
The man had attacked a child before, but as CBS 2 HD first reported back in February, there was no background check, even though the politically connected man in charge of the program said there was.
Her daughter was only 7 years old when it happened. She said it breaks her heart.
"Yes it does, because she's a beautiful girl," the woman said. "She's very embarrassed. She's very ashamed, and still feels she did something wrong.
"She was so active, so happy. Now she's just angry."
He attacked her for three months at Grove Street Elementary School in Irvington and once in his apartment in Newark. Again, she was 7. The man, Glenn Harp, is a 38-year-old volunteer in charge of an afterschool basketball program. The bandage CBS 2 HD cameras captured on his head came as a result of this mother going after him.
The mother said that when she found out that had they done a simple background check, a real background check, they would've found out that he did something like this before, she was beside herself with anger.
"I was really outraged because the first thing Irvington Board of Education said was, 'Not us! Not our fault! Not our program!'" the mother said.
Because the basketball program, which is terminated, was part of a number of programs run not by the school, but by Ahmed Screven, a man with friends at Irvington Town Hall, and a school board member. Todd and Scott Leonard are the family's lawyers.
"You assume they're gonna make sure your kids are safe, yet they have this sexual predator on school property, running an afterschool program basically without any supervision," Scott Leonard said.
Screven told CBS 2 HD his workers get background checks, but law enforcement said there was no background check.
"This shouldn't have happened! We shouldn't be here discussing this!" the mother said.
Screven, somehow, is still on the school board and, somehow, still gets funding. Harp has pled guilty to sexual assault.
"[Fifteen] years is the maximum he can get; 15 is the maximum he better get," the mother said.
When asked what she said when her daughter finally came to her with the news, the mother said, "Ii just basically explain it's one of those situations where you can't explain why. Bad things happen to good people."
Harp will be sentenced on March 20.
CBS 2 HD has repeatedly called the mayor of Irvington, the school board and Screven, but all have refused interviews. Renee Burgess, the president of the school board, did send an e-mail, saying that from now on, all volunteers would get background checks, but follow-up questions from CBS 2 HD were ignored.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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