Branson parents upset that accused sex felon is back in school

Last spring, a 15-year-old Branson High School student was sexually assaulted in a gym class by a 17-year-old who grabbed her breasts and threatened that he was going to force her to perform all kinds of sexual acts.

The young man, Felipe Contreras, faces a felony charge of sexual abuse and a misdemeanor charge of sexual misconduct in Taney County Circuit Court.

And though his case has not yet been settled, his 15-year-old victim was shocked during the first week of school when she saw the man she accuses of attacking her roaming the halls of Branson High.

In the accompanying video, you hear some things that at one time would have shocked us, but which we have sadly come to expect. We have Branson Superintendent Doug Hayter, who, of course, will not talk about the case because of privacy laws.

Then we hear the superintendent mouth the expected platitudes of a how "a person is innocent until proven guilty."

Nowhere is there any compassion for a 15-year-old victim, who if things happened the way she said they happened, is having to relive the nightmare every time she sees Felipe Contreras.

Is it too much to expect that if someone is accused of a felony sex crime that the person be kept out of the school until the case is decided in the courts? If there is a concern for the young man's education, then figure out a way to have him do his work from home.

If there is any possibility that he might be a threat to others (and again, all we know is that the allegations have been made, the Branson Police Department investigated, and the Taney County prosecutor filed the charges), then what justification can there be for allowing him to be in school?

Nowhere in the video do we hear the superintendent talking about what is being done to make sure students are safe. Even if he cannot talk about this particular case, it would have been nice to have had some reassuring words to let parents know that it is not open season and that Branson High School is not an open hunting ground for sexual predators.