The opinions and viewpoints of the guest author are entirely his own.
By Scully Wilson
Before he destroyed his life, Andrew Park, 33, was a fifth-grade teacher and coached the girls’ basketball team at Strawberry Hill Elementary School in Stamford, CT. It took him five years to ruin his life, and he will probably end up in prison, maybe for life. He was with the school since 2019.
Andrew Park is presumed guilty.
He was relieved of duties in February after a girl at the school was questioned by her teacher for being late for class. Police got involved, and with the girl’s help found 11 other girls, ages 11-13, who described in nearly identical language what Park had done to them. Park, a Korean American, was later charged with 12 felony counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and 12 counts of risk of injury to a minor.
The Principal decided Park was guilty before the trial.
Frank Rodriguez, the principal at Strawberry Hill, sent an email to let parents know that Park is guilty of causing harm not only to the girls but to many.
Rodriguez wrote:
“We will continue to work every day to support our students and help our community heal.”
The healing will be aided with recompense, as the parents of every child will sue, and the school district will settle quickly once Park is convicted. The crimes were on school property, which is an excellent thing, as Park, as a young teacher, with modest assets, does not have enough to pay 12 families and their attorneys to heal their pain. The cost will instead be spread among the district’s taxpayers.
A Better Language
Some morbidly curious readers want to know what Park did to the girls. All you need to know is that the girls said it. The police charged him. The media reported it, and the school principal assures parents of Park’s guilt pre-trial. There is only one thing left to know: How many years will the judge sentence Park when he is convicted?
Sexual Assault in the Fourth Degree (C.G.S. 53a-73a) is a felony when the victim is under 16, and the offender is more than three years older than the victim. The potential prison term is one to five years. With 12 counts, Park can be sentenced from 12 to 60 years.
To satisfy busybodies that infest this site, I will describe Park’s crimes. I will not call them “alleged,” for though he has not gone to trial, Park is already guilty by the nature of the charges. There may be some corner in America where the quaint old common law tradition that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty still stands. But not sex crimes. The presumption of innocence must be ejected. The notion of a trial offends us. A trial would force these children to get on the witness stand and relive their abuse in the presence of their abuser.
We have even evolved our language to ensure the presumption of guilt. We no longer call those who accuse “accusers,” which could imply doubt of the defendant’s guilt. They are “victims,” but even that it is not the word of the future. They are “Brave Survivors” (BS). A victim implies weakness, a survivor is brave for what she discloses.
Andrew Park will get no presumption of innocence. He must go directly to jail and do not pass the courthouse for a trial.
What Did He Do?
Returning to Andrew Park and BS 1 ,who told her teacher she was late because she was trying to avoid Park in the hallway, she went from committing a minor infraction to being a victim. When she told her teacher Park made her uncomfortable, she became a brave survivor. She told all: she said Park offered her candy and hugged her. She did not want to be hugged. But DCF declined to investigate when notified of this on Feb. 9.
The mother of BS 1 repeatedly called DCF. On Feb. 12, she told DCF that Park had done more than just give BS 1 hugs and candy. He refused to give her candy, because she would not hug him. DCF began an investigation. Park was placed on leave that day.
BS 1 told DCF investigators her story, and several of her girlfriends said Park had hugged them and gave them candy too. The girls said Park made them uncomfortable with his hugs, and some said while hugging them he might have kissed them. The DCF notified police.
At some point, it is unclear when, BS 1 and her friends realized that when Park hugged them, he put his hand on their “buttocks.” They did not say he put his hand under their clothes or showed signs of arousal – although they might be too young to know. No one alleged he did more (although we should give the girls time to remember more than hugs and candy, denial of candy without a hug, kisses and touching buttocks).
But why is it necessary? If Park gets 60 years, he will never touch another girl’s buttocks again. Still, it is hoped that the brave survivors will remember more. It will inure to their benefit, both in terms of their bravery and the amount of compensation they will receive.
Intent
In Connecticut, Sexual Assault in the Fourth Degree requires “intent” on the part of the accused. Park must have had a sexual intent when he hugged or made contact with the girls, or it is not a crime.
Did Park have a lascivious intent? Is he a lubricious, perverted, deviant dog looking to cop feels of little girls he taught or coached for his sexual gratification by handing them candy and bringing them closer? Or was he a fool, unaware of the world as it is today? He might have grown up in some incredibly rustic community, where he thought hugs might mean affection and nothing more. That a teacher could hug a child without having the slightest sexual intention. He may have grown up with too many hugs or not enough of them. He may not have been grooming them. Of course, he fell into the old trope of the groomer-pervert, a stranger who offers little kids candy. But he was no stranger. Everyone in school knew him. He did his hugging in plain sight, and offered candy. It is not alleged that he took them to his home or car. It is not alleged that he exposed himself, undressed them, or digitally penetrated them.
He might have been so enormously stupid that he was unaware that a teacher cannot hug a student and not ruin his life.
He Has/Had a Child
Before arresting him, Stamford Police raided his apartment in Norwalk, CT. After he was arrested, the court set the bond at $175,000 and ordered him to have no contact with any minors except his own child.
Because of his actions, that child no longer has a father. And because the names of the accused are not anonymous unlike the victims, Park’s child will endure disgrace and pressure to renounce him. Schoolmates already know and will taunt. The child might be reduced like Maupassant’s character in “A Piece of String” to replying, “It was only a hug.”
The Home He Once Had
Andrew Park lived at this apartment building. He has no chance at a trial, so he will soon be leaving this for prison.
One cannot tell if someone is a pervert by looking at his home. But here are some photos.
He will no longer have a home with his child.
Stamford Public Schools Decrees Guilt
Officials with Stamford Public Schools moved quickly to ensure Park is convicted before trial. In a statement school officials clumsily pronounced him guilty, using the word “alleged” in contradiction to the word “commends.”
“Stamford Public Schools commends those who came forward about this individual’s alleged behavior and also commends school staff for their response.”
The mugshot of Andrew Park
Too Late to Turn Back Now
A factor to keep in mind is that police raided Park’s apartment and undoubtedly took his computer, phones and other items. It is well known in law enforcement that pedophiles invariably have child porn on their computers. It is not known if police have inspected his electronic devices yet. But if they find child porn, there will be more charges. If they do not, it might point to possible innocence. But that is not something we are concerned with. If the girls were wrong and Park was just a fool, it is too late. He must go to prison.
Can you imagine the harm that would be done to the girls if a hug was only a hug and candy was only candy? They would not be brave survivors; they would not be victims. They would not get their college education paid for through a lawsuit. They would be little girls that misread a gentle teacher’s intentions and destroyed his life. I do not know if Park is innocent or guilty, and it does not matter.
Without Park going to prison, the community will never heal.
