Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – All charges have been dropped against Ryan Clemens, former Assistant Principal of St. Patrick’s Interparish School; he was previously facing three counts of child neglect, two counts of failing to report suspected child abuse, one count of destroying evidence, one count of making an inaccurate report, and one count of failing to report lewd conduct by an authority figure.

According to documents filed in the case, Clemens had been employed by the school for about 4.5 years and was Athletic Director before being promoted to Assistant Principal about 18 months ago. When he became Assistant Principal, Christopher Chell became Athletic Director.

On February 20, a female 7th-grader at the school reported to Clemens that Chell had made inappropriate comments to another girl that made her uncomfortable. Specifically, the girl said, Chell had told the other girl that he could be her “secret boyfriend,” but they would have to keep it a secret and could not be “open” about the “relationship.”

Clemens allegedly decided to investigate the report himself without notifying either law enforcement or the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Clemens reportedly held a closed-door meeting with Chell and the victim, during which Chell said the report was not true and Clemens told the girl that he believed Chell, “one hundred percent.” 

On February 23, Clemens reported the February 20 incident to DCF, including his conclusion that there had been no wrongdoing by Chell.

A few days after Clemens first learned about Chell’s alleged behavior, three female 6th-graders requested a meeting with Clemens, and each of the girls reportedly said that Chell had behaved inappropriately with them, ranging from inappropriate statements to inappropriate touching. Clemens allegedly did nothing to protect the girls from Chell after this meeting and did not report this to DCF or law enforcement until after Chell was arrested; another girl was allegedly victimized by Chell during school hours the day after the three girls met with Clemens.

Clemens reportedly told the detective that he had seen written communications in Chell’s office that contained evidence relating to the case, but he said he threw away this evidence after Chell was fired.

State Attorney Brian Kramer told Alachua Chronicle that the mandatory reporting statute does not specify the time frame in which suspected abuse must be reported. Because of this, he said, “The evidence of the amount of delay was insufficient to warrant charges under the statute.”

Clemens’ attorney and St. Patrick’s Interparish School have not yet responded to our requests for comment.

Chell’s case is reportedly still under investigation, and Clemens is expected to be a witness in that case.