Iowa City Broadway Center director accused of not reporting abuse

UPDATE: The director of Iowa City's Broadway Neighborhood Center is facing an uncommon charge of failure to report child abuse after police say she did not report allegations that a teacher at her center sexually assaulted a girl under age 12.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Human Services say this is the first time in the state's recent history – maybe ever – where a mandatory reporter was prosecuted for allegedly failing to report.

“I have never heard of one, and all our current administrators cannot remember another case,” said Roger Munns, spokesman for the Iowa Department of Human Services. “It's very rare.”

Susan Freeman-Murdah, 44, of Iowa City, was arrested about 5 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of failing to report child abuse, a simple misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $300.

She left the Johnson County Jail shortly after she was booked, but did not return calls from the Gazette today. Brian Loring, executive director of the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, released a statement Thursday afternoon saying the “health and safety of children has always been, and remains, our top priority.”

“We want the community to know that the Department of Human Services investigated and found no evidence of child abuse,” according to Loring's statement. “We have cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Department of Human Services and will continue to do so.”

Loring did not comment on whether Freeman-Murdah is still the director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center, 2105 Broadway St.

According to a criminal complaint, Freeman-Murdah, through her work as director, is responsible for overseeing the Headstart Program located in the center.

The lead teacher for the Headstart Program informed Freeman-Murdah that the mother of a child under age 12 reported a suspicion that her daughter had been the victim of a sexual assault, and she suspected the perpetrator was a Headstart instructor, according to the complaint.

The mother met with Freeman-Murdah, according to the compliant, and told her she believes a teacher had inappropriately touched her daughter, rising to the level of abuse. The mother told Freeman-Murdah that the child consistently named the teacher as the perpetrator, and the mother observed injuries to her daughter, according to the complaint.

Freeman-Murdah, according to police, conducted her own investigation and did not call police of the Department of Human Services, as required by Iowa Code.

The mother, on Dec. 12, reported the incident to Iowa City police, which then reported the allegations to the Department of Human Services.

Iowa City police and the Department of Human Services conducted a joint investigation into the sexual abuse allegations, according to Sgt. Denise Brotherton. When contacted by police, Freeman-Murdah told investigators that the mother has no history of lying and was not in conflict with the Broadway Neighborhood Center at the time of her report.

Brotherton said waiting to report abuse allegations, or failing to report them altogether, can hurt an investigation and keep police from filing charges in the end.

“It is so imperative that mandatory reporters report immediately, regardless of their opinion of the case,” Brotherton said. “It is so imperative that it gets done right away, so there is no valuable evidence that gets lost or suspects that leave.”

Munns said reports of suspected child abuse have risen since Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach for Penn State University, was arrested last year on suspicion of sexually assaulting boys, and several university officials were arrested or reprimanded for not reporting what they knew about the allegations at the time. Munns said public awareness around that case could be behind this rare Iowa prosecution of a mandatory reporter.

“Now that we've heard this horror story out of Penn State, people might be quicker to report,” he said. “We've seen a bump in the number of calls.”