Case dismissed against Boise principal accused of ignoring ‘inappropriate’ relationship
Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a former Boise middle school principal over accusations he failed to investigate allegations of sexual abuse, after several attempts to bring a criminal case against him.
Former Fairmont Junior High School Principal Christopher Ryan was indicted by a grand jury on a felony count of injury to a child, which carried up to 10 years in prison. Canyon County Deputy Prosecutor Shari Dodge requested that the charge be dropped, and said the prosecution had not met its obligation to ensure a “fair and just trial.”
“The state does not believe that we have fulfilled that obligation,” Dodge continued, “and as a result of that, it is with great trepidation, I guess, that the state is going to move to dismiss this case with prejudice — so that it can never be brought forward again.”
It was the third time that Ryan faced a charge, after prosecutors previously dismissed a misdemeanor of failure to report child abuse or neglect in May 2023, and then a misdemeanor of injury to a child four months later.
The decision came after Canyon County prosecutors filed hundreds of pages of documents, emails, text messages, body camera footage, and four audio recordings well past the deadline set by the court.
Prosecutors are expected to turn over any evidence they receive for a criminal case. And before heading to trial, the judge sets a deadline for when any remaining information needs to be turned over. If the evidence is late, it impacts the defense’s ability to properly prepare for trial.
In a statement to the Idaho Statesman, Ryan’s attorney, Jeffrey Brownson, described his client as a “dedicated educator who was unjustly accused of wrongdoing.”
“I was honored to represent him and assist in his efforts to clear his name,” Brownson said. “We are grateful for the dismissal of the charges, which was the right outcome. I am pleased that Chris and his family can now begin to move forward.”
The Ada County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment and referred the Statesman to the neighboring agency, noting that Canyon County handled the case because Ada County prosecutors had an undisclosed conflict of interest. The Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office didn’t respond to several requests for comment.
Principal accused of ignoring ‘inappropriate’ relationship
In December 2022, Crime Stoppers of Southwest Idaho received an anonymous tip that accused the school’s social worker, Scott Crandell, of potentially having an “inappropriate sexual relationship” with a 14-year-old student, court records showed.
Boise police interviewed the student, the student’s mother, Fairmont Junior High faculty and staff members, including Ryan, and the attorney for the Boise School District.
Crandell killed himself at a local Boise hotel a day after police seized his cellphone, according to court records and a report from the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
Two days later, police confiscated Ryan’s cellphone, and he was charged with failure to report child abuse the next month. The charge was eventually dismissed.
Ryan was eventually indicted on the felony charge, which accused him of allowing Crandell to have “unsupervised contact” with the student after he was notified more than once that Crandell was behaving in a manner that was “inappropriate,” “unlawful” or “sexual in nature,” according to the indictment.
Brownson argued in court filings that the prosecution was making his client the “scapegoat.”
“This case is a byproduct of a terrible and tragic set of facts that are impossible to remedy,” Brownson wrote. “The person allegedly responsible for perpetrating these crimes is dead.”
Lawsuits are still pending against Ryan and the Boise School District, filed by the teen’s parents and the parents of another student who alleged Crandell was “grooming” their child, according to the lawsuits.
“Principal Ryan did nothing to properly investigate Crandell or his conduct towards female students,” Eric Rossman, an attorney representing the parents of the second child, said in a lawsuit.
Parents alleged that several teachers and staff informed Ryan about Crandell’s inappropriate behavior. Ryan and the Boise School District have denied the allegations.
The first accuser’s father called Ryan in March 2022 with concerns that Crandell was communicating with his daughter at “odd hours,” according to a lawsuit. Brownson said in criminal court filings that Ryan was the one to reach out.
Brownson added that Crandell was a family friend of the student’s mother and a “beloved” social worker who was viewed as the “gold standard of social workers.” He pointed to an email from the student’s special education teacher, which showed that the faculty member wasn’t as concerned with Crandell’s behavior.
“I don’t think Crandell is doing anything inappropriate, but I do think (the student’s) attachment to him is,” the teacher wrote in a May 2022 email. “Crandell is safe, but this isn’t good behavior for her to engage in.”
‘This is offensive to the court’
The felony against Ryan was dismissed after an hourslong hearing on the morning his trial was scheduled to begin.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Nancy Baskin that day took up a flurry of motions by the defense. That included a request to dismiss the case against his client, on the basis that the prosecution filed a significant amount of evidence at the “eleventh hour.”
Prosecutors also didn’t disclose several witnesses until the week before the trial, court records showed. Baskin saddled prosecutors with a sanction that prohibited them from calling any of those witnesses.
“That, in my judgment, is trial by ambush,” Baskin said. “You are handcuffing the defense counsel from being able to adequately prepare for trial.”
Brownson said one of the late reports contained an interview with the accuser that would have helped his client.
The report summarized an interview Boise Police Detective Jordan Gustin conducted with the teen in February. The teen had asked Gustin, “What would it take to have my mother charged with a crime?” and told him that if Ryan was charged with failing to protect her, her mother “shared in the same responsibility” by letting her see Crandell outside of school hours, according to a memorandum Brownson wrote to dismiss the case.
Shortly before selecting a jury, the defense attorney said he still didn’t know critical details of the evidence, including whether the interview was recorded.
“We have nothing. We just have the detective’s own representations that he is concerned,” Brownson said in court. “The prosecution … is responsible for everybody. They’re responsible for law enforcement actions here — and this is egregious.
“Is somebody going to tell me whether or not it was recorded? And if it was, produce it,” he continued. “We’re supposed to start trial today.”
Dodge first admitted that she didn’t know whether the interview with the teen was recorded. After the court took a break, and she spoke with the detective, Dodge returned to say that 23 minutes were recorded, before the recorder’s battery died. She then motioned to have the case dismissed.
Despite conducting the interview in February, law enforcement didn’t give the report to the prosecution until May, which baffled Baskin.
“Why is that happening?” she asked Dodge. Dodge said she didn’t know.
Baskin said Gustin had an obligation to turn over evidence quickly, and that Gustin’s delay in providing the report was “very problematic.” The Boise Police Department declined to comment or grant the Statesman an interview with Gustin.
“This is offensive to the court. It should be offensive to the prosecutors, and it is clearly offensive and prejudicial to handcuff the defense in providing a report from February of 2024 three months later,” Baskin said. “This is not how the system is supposed to work. It is not procedural justice, it is not procedural fairness, it is not in compliance with the rules of discovery.”
Dodge said she was “very frustrated” with the problems they encountered during the discovery process. Though there were issues beyond the prosecution’s control, she said, she acknowledged it was prosecutors’ responsibility to ensure evidence was disclosed properly.
Since prosecutors lost their ability to call four crucial witnesses, Dodge added, their case hinged on the student’s testimony. Baskin applauded the prosecution for its request, especially given the impact testifying could have on the teen.
She then addressed Ryan.
“I know this has been trying on you, Mr. Ryan, as it has been trying on other parties,” Baskin said. “The wheels of justice don’t always turn as quickly as we would like, and I wish you the best of luck in your future.”
