UPDATED February 16.
The police chief of an Arlington charter school district says his investigation into sexual abuse of students, which has already resulted in three arrests, is “far from done.”
During a press conference Thursday afternoon, Newman International Academy Police Chief Matthew Antkowiak said his department is working with additional law enforcement, including federal agencies, and expects to issue more warrants “soon.”
The three suspects arrested over the past week include the principal and two other employees at the district’s Gibbins campus, which serves 7th through 12th-grade students.
The Investigation
Antkowiak said detectives are “actively” following leads and will pursue justice “to the fullest extent under the law.”
He said the investigation is “not limited to incidents on our campuses.” It involves multiple schools and churches in Texas and at least one other state that he believes “passed the trash” by failing to report sexual misconduct as required by law.
“We have come to knowledge of other institutions that have allowed people to resign” rather than be investigated or prosecuted, he explained.
“To parents: I’m sorry that churches and schools are not safe,” said Antkowiak.
The chief said NIA is also reviewing its policies, which “obviously failed.”
He said the district conducts background checks on potential employees, but the checks are “only as good as the information in them.”
“Anyone who thinks this is just a Newman International Academy problem, you are blind,” he added. “The playbook in schools in America is not working. We must do better.”
Antkowiak said investigators have identified two victims who are students at the NIA Gibbins campus, and the district is “committed to full transparency in this process.”
He said Superintendent Sheba George made it clear NIA “will not place reputation over the safety of students. We would not be here if others had not done so.”
“Anyone found to have done wrong will be placed on leave, terminated, and prosecuted as appropriate,” he added.
Antkowiak said district officials acted quickly after receiving “credible allegations of misconduct involving employees and students.” He said two 7th-grade girls made the initial outcry, telling a police officer on campus that they were “seeing something that wasn’t right.”
The first suspect was in jail the same day.
The Suspects
Police arrested 53-year-old instructional aide Ruel “JR” Barbee on February 6 for improper relationship between educator and student, a second-degree felony. Barbee also worked as a youth pastor at Oasis Community Worship Center in Fort Worth.
On February 10, assistant girls basketball coach Gabrielle Little was arrested and charged with child grooming, a third-degree felony.
Principal Richard “Rick” Adams was arrested on February 12 and charged with failure to make a required child abuse report with intent to conceal, a state jail felony, as well as tampering with a witness and three counts of tampering with physical evidence, which are third-degree felonies.
Adams also leads a group for older adults at Fielder Church in Arlington, according to church members. Chief Antkowiak’s NIA Police biography states that he serves as director of security for the same church.
Executive Pastor Jared Yates clarified to Texas Scorecard that Adams has “never been employed at Fielder” and said Antkowiak is not the church’s current security director.
All three suspects have since bonded out of jail.
Antkowiak said the school’s athletic director, the head varsity girls basketball coach, and an assistant football coach are on paid administrative leave while the investigation continues.
The Fallout
During Thursday’s press conference, Assistant Superintendent Donna Hart announced new leadership at the Gibbins campus. She said Adams had resigned while under investigation. Barbee and Little were fired.
District officials met with parents prior to the press conference.
“I needed to make sure moms and dads got to hear from me first,” Antkowiak told the media. “That was a hard conversation, as it should be.”
Antkowiak revealed during the press conference that he was a victim of childhood sexual abuse and as such, “student safety is my personal highest priority.”
“This is personal. I am not playing,” he said.
“I’m going to turn over every rock, because it’s disgusting behavior,” Antkowiak promised. “I’m not stopping. We’re going to continue to beat this drum.”
He called sexual abuse of children “an epidemic” and said his personal view is that “If you say nothing, you are just as guilty.”
We have a choice to make as a society. We can keep pretending that it’s not happening … or get to a point where you say “this is not acceptable” and do something about it.
He said anyone who sees something amiss needs to say something, and if they are ignored, to “say it, and say it, and say it again.”
Chief Antkowiak encouraged anyone with information about this investigation or other suspected misconduct to contact the NIA Police Department or email report@newmanacademy.org.
