Associated Press Published

Judge Asks to See Evidence Before Sentencing School Director

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A Harrison County judge has asked attorneys on both sides to turn over evidence before he sentences a woman who has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in connection to her running of a Salem boarding school for troubled youths.

The Exponent Telegram reports that Chief Judge Thomas A. Bedell recently requested to see the evidence in the case of 69-year-old Susan Gayle Clark, who directed the now-closed Miracle Meadows School.

Clark is to be sentenced April 1 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor child neglect creating a substantial risk of injury, misdemeanor failure to report by a mandated reporter and misdemeanor obstructing a law enforcement officer.

Clark says she regrets not firing an employee accused of putting a student in handcuffs. She also has admitted to not properly reporting an accusation of sexual abuse or sexual assault.