The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Police: Neighborhood director failed to report alleged sexual assault

A director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center was arrested and charged Wednesday after she allegedly failed to report a sexual assault.

Susan Freeman-Murdah, 44, 217 Woodridge Ave., was charged with failing to fulfill her duties as a mandatory reporter.

According to a complaint from Iowa City Police, a teacher in the Headstart Program — which Freeman oversees — told Freeman a parent approached them with concerns her daughter had been sexually assaulted in December of 2011.

Law requires Freeman, a director at the Broadway Neighborhood Center, to report any sexual abuse within 24 hours.

The report said the parent suspected a teacher at the Headstart Program committed the alleged sexual assault.

The mother allegedly told the teacher she believed another teacher within the program had indecently touched her daughter, who is under the age of 12.

The report said the mother saw injuries on her daughter, and her daughter consistently told her which teacher committed the alleged assault.

Freeman was booked at the Johnson County Jail at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, but has since been released on a cash bond, according to authorities at the Johnson County Jail.

— By Alison Sullivan

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