Hilton Head teacher allegedly assaulted student months ago. Why were parents just notified?

UPDATE: On Feb. 15, 2022, the charge against Anthony Richard Heiter was dismissed due to “insufficient evidence” after review from prosecutors, according to a dismissal document filed in court.

After a Hilton Head elementary school teacher was arrested Thursday on charges that he sexually assaulted a student months ago, officials at the school district and the sheriff’s office are sticking by their decision to keep the investigation secret until charges were filed, despite some parents’ concerns.

Anthony Richard Heiter, 54, was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor Thursday morning, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Heiter, a first-grade dual language Spanish immersion teacher at Hilton Head Elementary School, is accused of sexually assaulting a student at the school in October 2018, according to Capt. Bob Bromage, spokesperson for the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Parents are troubled by the fact that they were not informed of this incident until after the story broke on Thursday.

“We were completely left in the dark from November up until now,” said Emily Lindsey Quesada, whose son is a student in Heiter’s class. “I was angry, hurt and worried about my son when I saw (the teacher’s) mugshot on the news. I was baffled at how the school could keep something like that from the parents of his students.”

She expressed her concerns on social media.

“I’m sad the school didn’t even have the audacity to contact the parents in his class when this happened,” wrote Quesada on Facebook. “ALL parents should have been contacted and offered counseling for the other students to insure it hasn’t happened to anyone else.”

Dozens of other parents and community members echoed her sentiment on social media.

“I’m having a really hard time understanding why a warrant wasn’t immediately issued when the incident was reported and also why he was on PAID leave ....” Dalisse Rosado wrote on Facebook.

Officials say correct process was followed

Foster and Bromage agreed Friday that the district and the sheriff’s office carefully considered every step of the investigation process from the beginning.

“The principal met with the (district’s human resource) director immediately after she talked to the (alleged victim’s) parents, and it was decided that Heiter would be placed on paid administrative leave and removed from his classroom position the next day.” Foster said.

Students were told that Heiter was “out of the classroom taking care of personal matters.”

“We wanted to make sure the children knew he was safe so they wouldn’t worry,” Foster said.

However, Quesada said she was “in the dark” as a parent.

“From the email in November, I thought maybe he was sick with cancer or something, but I couldn’t have imagined this,” she said.

Bromage said sexual assault investigations involving a child typically take several months. Children can easily be coerced during testimonial interviews so cases require help from outside experts who are trained in forensic interviewing.

“It’s a different process when you’re dealing with a child that takes longer because you have to be careful in questioning, and it’s a different interview technique done by specialists,” Bromage said. “It can involve several forensic interviews.”

In this case, Hopeful Horizons, a Beaufort County-based children’s advocacy, domestic violence and rape crisis center, was contacted to interview the victim after parents told police they noticed their child’s behavior had changed dramatically in the weeks after the incident, according to a police report.

Bromage said school district officials followed proper protocol by not contacting parents in November after the alleged assault was initially reported. He said it would be “highly unusual” for the sheriff’s office to question parents about allegations before charges were filed.

“We have to protect the investigation and not have any outside influences compromise the investigation,” Bromage said.

Informing parents

On Thursday afternoon, more than seven hours after Heiter turned himself into the sheriff’s office, Hilton Head Elementary Principal Sara Owen issued a letter to notify parents of Heiter’s arrest.

“Parents and guardians may have perfectly understandable concerns and fears,” the letter read. “They might wonder if their children’s safety has been compromised.”

Owen emphasized that Heiter has not been convicted of anything or admitted guilt so he should be “presumed innocent until the judicial system determines otherwise.”

The letter includes guidelines from the Child Abuse Prevention Association, instructing parents wishing to question their children about possible abuse on how to proceed.

As of Friday morning, the sheriff’s office had not received additional complaints about Heiter, Bromage said.

Hilton Head Elementary is hosting a meeting for parents at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the school’s red auditorium, the letter said.

What’s next?

On the same day he was arrested, the S.C. Board of Education suspended Heiter’s educator certificate after reviewing evidence.

“Due to the serious nature of these allegations of misconduct, Mr. Heiter may pose a threat to the health, safety, and welfare of students, who may be under his instruction and that emergency action is required,” board chairman Del-Gratia Jones wrote in a letter.

Heiter cannot teach again in the state until “a due-process hearing is held and/or this matter is otherwise resolved,” according to the letter.

The move by the state will affect Heiter’s paid administrative status, Foster said.

“We can’t employ a teacher who doesn’t have a valid state teaching certificate, and he no longer does,” he said.

Heiter was released on a $15,000 bond Thursday. He faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted for the felony, according to state law.

This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 12:00 AM.