A Northwest Arkansas teacher accused of failing to report the sexual assault of a young girl is on leave after her arrest last week, according to a school official.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Tamy Pershing, 46, is also being recommended for termination by the leader of Arkansas Arts Academy.
“While cognizant that Mrs. Pershing has not been formally charged, not to mention convicted, of any offense, the allegations presented in the affidavit have damaged the ability of Mrs. Pershing to serve as a teacher for the district,” CEO Mary Ley wrote in a statement to the newspaper.
Pershing, a sixth-grade language arts teacher at the Rogers charter school, was arrested Friday on charges of failure to notify by a mandated reporter and endangering the welfare of a minor.
Her husband, 54-year-old science-fiction author Douglas Jay Pershing, is accused of abusing two young girls staying at the couple’s home in Bella Vista.
The Bella Vista Police Department was notified Aug. 10 of a sexual abuse investigation out of Henderson, Nev., involving a 4-year-old girl and her 2-year-old sister.
The victims' parents, who live in Nevada, were reportedly family friends of the Pershings.
On at least one occasion, Tamy Pershing reportedly caught her husband having inappropriate contact with the 4-year-old girl, telling him to “stop and not do it again,” police said.
The Pershings are set to be arraigned Oct. 9 in Benton County Circuit Court, records show. Their names did not appear in online jail records Wednesday afternoon.
Read the full story in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette here.
