Amador County – Amador County Unified School District investigated a complaint of unreported child abuse, which led to a misdemeanor charge for an Amador High School teacher for failing to report abuse.

Amador County Unified School District Director of Personnel Nancy Gamache said Wednesday the “District did investigate the allegations and we took what we believe to be appropriate actions in response to that.” Gamache said the District follows a policy of not disseminating information about personnel actions, but confirmed Lori Thomas is a teacher at Amador High.

Thomas had a complaint filed against her Jan. 9 in Superior Court, and the Amador County District Attorney’s office released details of the charge last week.

Gamache said employees are required by state law to report child abuse. New hires get a pamphlet that outlines the reporting procedure and requirements. She said under Section 1116 of the penal code, teachers are mandated reporters of child abuse when they learn of incidents.

The pamphlets are provided by Amador County Child Abuse Prevention Council. The District mandates annual training for employees to remind them of procedures and requirements, and refresh memory on reporting. Gamache said she could not speak about the child involved in the incident.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.