Three officials at a Christian school have been accused of covering up sexual assaults.
Morgan Daugherty, 35, Dominique Washington, 35, and Stacy Bargeman, 58, all of Lake Charles, were booked in the case.
The investigation began in September, when Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office Special Victims Unit detectives received a complaint about sexual assaults at Hamilton Christian School in Lake Charles.
During the investigation, detectives discovered multiple sexual assaults occurred between students from March to September of this year. Detectives say that Daughtery, who was principal, and Washington, who was coach, knew about the assaults and tried to hide the information from both school staff and law enforcement.
Bargeman, an employee at the school, sent threatening messages to other school personnel in reference to the investigation, deputies allege.
Daughtery and Bargeman were booked with failure to report certain felonies and obstruction of justice. Their bonds are set at $1.15 million. Bargeman was booked with cyberstalking and her bond is $7,500.
“This case took longer than usual to investigate due to the complexity of the case and the sheer number of individuals we needed to interview,” stated Calcasieu Sheriff Stitch Guillory. “We wanted to make sure this investigation was thorough, just like any other, and that all available evidence was collected. There has been a lot of rumor and hearsay about what actually occurred, and we are still analyzing evidence when it comes to this case. The individuals we arrested today, were arrested due to evidence recovered revealing, from day 1, they were trying to impede and cover up facts during our investigation.
"We have worked closely with the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office throughout this case, and will continue to do so. This is a sad situation, and it appears a culture of hazing had developed at this school. Even worse is the fact that adults were aware of the situation and did not report the crimes to law enforcement. That is unacceptable, and we are committed to doing everything we can as a law enforcement agency to ensure it does not continue. We also believe there was a lack of cooperation from families due to fearing nothing would happen. We are hoping these arrests will give possible victims confidence to come forward with more information.”
If anyone has any information pertaining to this case, they are asked to call CPSO at 491-3605. You can also submit a tip through the Closewatch Calcasieu App or by calling Crime Stoppers at 439-2222.
CPSO SVU Detective Sonny Schiro is the lead investigator on the case.
