FORT WORTH -- Concerns that a high school principal had pinched male students' nipples were first brought to Fort Worth school district officials this year.
Then officials began investigating an allegation that Dunbar High School Principal Douglas Williams had taken pictures of male students working out without their shirts on, officials said.Williams was placed on administrative leave Tuesday.A woman who called the Star-Telegram after attempts to reach Williams at home said Williams had no comment.Interim Superintendent Walter Dansby said Sunday that Williams has admitted to pinching the students and was disciplined, but Dansby, who was out of town Sunday, did not have details of the incident available. Dansby said the latest allegation was brought forward after the initial investigation began, but he declined to give specifics, saying it is still being reviewed.School officials who declined to be named for fear of losing their jobs said the second allegation against Williams is that he took photographs of shirtless students before this school year.Williams is known for being a photographer who often took pictures around the campus and at sporting events that were then presented in slide shows, parents said.The district's Office of Professional Standards previously reviewed the breast pinching incident. An outside investigator has now been brought in, Dansby said."We wanted someone else to look into it to make sure it is fair to him and to everyone involved," he said.Texas law requires that any reasonable suspicion of child abuse be reported to authorities. District spokesman Clint Bond said law enforcement agencies and Child Protective Services are not involved in the investigation and are not expected to be.District policy says an educator shall not "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly engage in physical mistreatment, neglect, or abuse of a student or minor" and shall maintain appropriate relationships and boundaries.Bond said students were not informed about why Williams was removed, only that he was placed on leave."We did not feel a need to do that because we anticipate this being resolved quickly," Bond said.It was not known Sunday whether the parents of the boys involved in the pinching had been informed.Williams has been principal of the east Fort Worth school since 2007 after spending much of his career in California. Retired educator Jannis Dilworth is temporarily overseeing the campus.Many in the Dunbar community were shocked at the allegations.Sophomore Alexis Smith said she had never heard concerns about Williams. "He was a good principal," Smith said. "He cared about the kids and made sure we were focused."Some families said they are awaiting the outcome of the investigation before making a judgment but are worried. "I'm really concerned about it," parent Shurl Brookings said. "You don't want to have anything like that going on in our schools."Trustee Christene Moss, who represents that area of town, said she could not comment on an ongoing personnel issue."He's under investigation, and we just have to wait and see what the investigation reveals," she said. "I have no thoughts about it right now because you don't try a person before you get all the information."Eva-Marie Ayala,817-390-7700Twitter: @fwstayalaHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
