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Principal Donna Valentine, 62, and vice principal Roth Nordin, 59, were each charged by Stamford Police in October one misdemeanor count of failing to report an allegation. Specifically, the are accused of failing to tell the state Department of Children and Families about allegations that Stamford High English teacher Danielle Watkins of Norwalk was sexually involved with an 18-year-old student and selling marijuana to another teen.
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Richard Comerford said he owed it to the residents "of this city where I was born and raised" to review new information about the case more thoroughly.
"I don't want to be cavalier in the way these things are handled," Comerford said.
He added that he needed to "put it together in my own mind and determine the appropriate acts I am going to take."
Among the information he wanted to review was information supplied by Valentine's lawyer Mark Sherman.
Outside of the court, Devin Janosov, who represents the two teenage victims in the case, said his clients aren't objecting to the accelerated rehabilitation.
"They feel that a mistake was made and they (the principals) are owning up to their mistake. They are admitting they should have reported and that is what AR is for," Janosov said.
"It is for people who never had crime committed before. They make a mistake. They are not likely to make a mistake again, not likely to see them again, and they get a second chance. My clients, after speaking with them, they feel that fits this situation. Whether Judge Comerford will come to that decision after viewing all the evidence, I can't be sure. I can't say."
Janosov said a story in the Stamford Advocate on Wednesday that Valentine had not reported previous incidents involving a male teacher, no longer teaching at the school, came as a surprise. But he said it may not affect this case.
"I don't know how much bearing it is going to have on this case, but it is definitely something Judge Comerford should consider and look into and he is doing the right thing," Janosov said,
Neither Valentine nor Nordin spoke during the court appearance. They return to court on Nov. 19.
Accelerated rehabilitation erases charges from a defendant's record after the completion of a probationary period of up to two years. It is available to some first-time offenders charged with lesser crimes.
Valentine and Nordin have been on paid leave since their arrests.
Watkins is accused of being involved with an 18-year-old student and supplying him and another teenage male with marijuana, police said. She was arrested in July, and her case is still before the courts.
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