Isgan

The Chestnut Ridge Middle School official accused of failing to report suspected child abuse was sentenced Wednesday to four years’ probation after entering a no-contest plea in early February.

Vice Principal Patrick Nathan Isgan, 39, pleaded no contest to recklessly endangering another person and failure to report or refer.

Isgan initially faced more than 60 charges after an investigation into the school district’s handling of a Nov. 2, 2023, report by a bus contractor that a 12-year-old boy sexually harassed a young girl.

During the sentencing hearing, President Judge Travis W. Livengood heard testimony from both former school officials and supporters of the victim, as well as the victim themself.

Livengood ultimately sentenced Isgan to probation after determining he wasn’t a danger to the public.

Throughout the case, defense attorney Thomas Dickey argued that the incident was properly reported to ChildLine. He also questioned why Isgan was charged while other school officials were not.

The investigation began in early February 2024, when state police at Bedford received six ChildLine reports indicating that six juveniles at Chestnut Ridge Middle School were sexually assaulted by a 12-year-old boy.

On Feb. 12, 2024, troopers met with the middle school principal and Isgan at the middle school, where Isgan, a mandated reporter, stated he conducted his own investigation into the Nov. 2, 2023, report that an 8-year-old girl was assaulted by the 12-year-old boy.

Isgan, who provided a timeline of events, told police that he concluded no sexual assault occurred after he watched the security video and talked to the 8-year-old girl and the 12-year-old boy, as well as a 15-year-old girl who rode the same bus, court documents state.

On Feb. 7, 2024, Isgan and the school principal rewatched the Nov. 2, 2023, video and saw what appeared to be the 12-year-old inappropriately touching a younger child, according to the timeline.

At that point, Isgan notified ChildLine of the suspected assaults. On Feb. 8, 2024, he made another call to ChildLine with additional information, the affidavit states.

Those reports are what prompted the investigation into Isgan’s and the district’s handling of the allegations when they first came to light in 2023.

At the conclusion of the investigation, police said six victims were sexually assaulted by the 12-year-old boy on a school district bus. Court documents state the victims said the sexual assaults were occurring daily between Nov. 2, 2023, and Feb. 5, 2024.

Isgan has been on unpaid leave from the Chestnut Ridge School District pending the case’s resolution.