A former Mount St. Mary Academy athletic director who was convicted of not immediately reporting a sexual relationship between a teacher and a student had her teaching license suspended for a year Thursday.
Kathy Griffin, 58, will have her teaching license suspended from July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, according to an agreement that her attorney, Clayton Blackstock, made with the state Department of Education. She could receive her license at the end of that period.
The Arkansas Board of Education unanimously agreed to accept the agreement Thursday.
Griffin would have faced a revocation of her teaching license, but Blackstock said he had looked back at similar cases to see what type of punishment was imposed. She had voluntarily surrendered her license after her misdemeanor conviction and hasn't been teaching for three years, he added.
A jury convicted Griffin in 2013 of failing to immediately report a sexual relationship between former math teacher and coach Kelly O'Rourke, now 44, and a student, who was 16 at the time the relationship began. O'Rourke was later convicted of first-degree sexual assault.
Under Arkansas law, mandated reporters -- including school officials, doctors, attorneys, social workers and other professionals -- are required to immediately notify authorities about suspected child abuse or maltreatment. Failing to do so is a Class A misdemeanor, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.
Griffin, who had had a relationship with O'Rourke, learned of the sexual relationship with the student on Feb. 24, 2012. She notified authorities two weeks later, after finding out that someone else was about to report it, prosecutors have said.
She received a year-long supervised probation for the offense.
Metro on 07/10/2015