Even after a warrant for suspected molestation was issued for his arrest, a Palo Alto elementary school teacher continued teaching for five days in January — right through the day he turned himself in at Santa Clara County Main Jail.
The week-plus lapse between the time the warrant was issued for Michael Christopher Airo, 34, and his arrest is one of several questions raised in the case. Airo, who taught fourth and fifth grade at Ohlone Elementary, is suspected of molesting the daughter of his former girlfriend from 2002 to 2005. Palo Alto school officials weren’t notified of the warrant, or even of Airo’s booking when he turned himself in Jan. 13, by any local law enforcement agencies.
“That’s unacceptable,” said Margaret Petros, a longtime victim advocate who previously served on the Child Abuse Council of Santa Clara County. “It takes a second for someone to molest a child and inflict what could be lifelong damage.” Law enforcement agencies, she said, “have the obligation to let school officials know immediately.”
After the warrant was issued Jan. 6, Palo Alto police attempted to contact Airo but were unable to reach him, police spokesman Lt. Zach Perron said. “Had we arrested him, we would have notified the employer.” Notifying employers of warrants can potentially hamper an investigation, he said.
So school Superintendent Glenn “Max” McGee didn’t learn about the case until a day after Airo appeared at the jail — and bailed out on a $500,000 bond. It was a fax from the state Department of Justice, which issues security clearances for teachers, that notified the district.
Since then, McGee and Palo Alto Police Chief Dennis Burns have discussed improving communications and notification, district spokesman Jorge Quintana said.
Airo has been charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 and with performing a lewd or lascivious act on a child by force, violence, duress, menace and fear.
That the alleged crime is more than 10 years old and happened in a private home among family members also influenced the police and district attorney’s handling of the case. “We had no indication that any students had been victimized,” Perron said. He also noted that since the case came to light, police have not received reports of any additional potential victims.
But those who work to prevent child abuse still question the time lags. “We want people who we are entrusted with our kids to be beyond reproach,” said Irene van der Zande of the Santa Cruz-based Kidpower, which works to train children and parents in staying safe.
What also disturbs child-safety advocates and unsettles parents is that Airo met the child when he worked as an aide at a nonprofit that provided day care on the El Carmelo School campus. According to the police report, the nonprofit and Airo mutually parted ways. He was unable to pay attention to all the children he was supposed to be supervising, a day care administrator told police. One mother told police she filed a complaint that Airo was paying too much attention to her daughter and his alleged victim at the day care.
Airo eventually shared a home with the child, an older half-sister and their mother, and allegedly molested the child when he was alone with her in the afternoons, according to the police investigation.
This week, the Palo Alto school board moved to begin dismissal proceedings against Airo.
The investigation stretched over 19 months, from May 2014 after a young woman reported to her therapist that as a child she had been molested by Airo. She is not being identified because she is a potential victim of sexual abuse.
Last year, Palo Alto Police interviewed Ohlone Principal Nicki Smith — who was in her first year in that role — about Airo. But she apparently did not report the police encounter to her superiors. According to the police report, Smith at the time told Officer Joel Hornung she had not received any complaints against Airo and that she would never imagine him touching or harming the children in any way, and did not know of any suspicious circumstances about him.
Airo has been on unpaid leave since his arrest. He is set to be arraigned Tuesday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Contact Sharon Noguchi at 408-271-3775. Follow her at Twitter.com/noguchionk12.
