Case against principal is finally settled

The case involving Shelley Nordick, the principal of Rosamond Elementary School in Riverton, has been settled with a diversion agreement.

Nordick had been charged with failing to report abuse, a class B misdemeanor, for allegedly not telling state officials about first-grade teacher Frank Laine Hall, who was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for molesting 11 pupils.

But Nordick's attorney, Blake Ostler, says that the agreement is "simply a way of saying we're moving forward."

He said there was no plea entered and there will be no adverse legal consequences for Nordick.

"It's really a way of saving face" for prosecutors who were apparently misinformed about whether Nordick had called the Division of Child and Family Services.

When one complaint arose about Hall, Nordick checked into it, but there was not enough information to report anything, Ostler said.

Nordick later received two voicemails from parents expressing concern about other incidents on a Friday night after she returned from a conference. Ostler said Nordick immediately contacted those parents and suspended Hall the following Monday before school started. She talked to other parents that morning, called the district's main office and, in the presence of a witness, called DCFS.

"She did exactly what we expect a good and competent administrator to do because that is what she is," Ostler said.

"The prosecutor was under the misimpression there hadn't been a report to DCFS," Ostler said. "We have conclusive evidence that she did report."

Hall, 37, was sentenced to three years to life for each of 10 counts of attempted aggravated sex abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, and 1-to-15 years for one count of sex abuse of a child, a second-degree felony. Third District Judge Royal Hansen ordered the prison terms for the first five counts to run consecutively to each other and all the others will be concurrent.

Hall won the Huntsman Award for Excellence in Education in 2006, got $10,000 in prize money, and was considered to be a top-notch and popular first-grade teacher.

At his sentencing in November 2007, a red-faced Hall put his head down on the courtroom podium and wept as he admitted "guilty" to each criminal count as it was read aloud.

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E-mail: lindat@desnews.com