Ulster County District Attorney Emmanuel Nneji says the Saugerties Central School District (SCSD) will have to work very hard to overcome a history of perceived obfuscation.
“I have received several emails and messages from people in Saugerties talking about their experiences 20 or 30 years ago within the school district about abuse that they suffered and reporting such abuse to school officials, and nothing was done,” Nneji said during a meeting of the Saugerties Town Board last week.
The July arrest of former Saugerties High School wrestling coach and custodian Reid Kappler, charged with 18 counts of third-degree felony rape of two girls between the ages of 15 and 16 between 2023 and 2024, sent shockwaves through the community. District officials spent much of the summer responding to the arrest, including opening its own internal investigation by an independent contractor.
Kappler’s arrest followed the arrest of part-time Saugerties Police Officer Sydney Mills, who was charged with multiple felony sex offenses, including rape, sexual abuse, and engaging in sexual conduct with a child between the ages of 14 and 15. The allegations cover several months during 2022 and are related to a single teenage girl.
During the town board meeting held on Wednesday, September 3, Nneji questioned whether the school district’s internal investigation aligned with the efforts of law enforcement.
“I’m making sure that the cover-up doesn’t happen,” he said. “You can imagine when the school district has to do its own investigation before reporting to the police, even if it takes a half-hour, that’s too long. And their investigation is not criminal in nature.”
According to state education law, teachers and other school employees are considered “mandated reporters,” requiring them to follow through on any allegations of abuse or other concerns brought to their attention. Nneji did not offer specific instances or years where issues of abuse were brought to district officials and nothing was done, but he said it would not be tolerated any longer, insisting information is immediately shared with law enforcement.
“I’ve told them that not involving the police right away may amount to official misconduct or endangering the welfare of a child,” he said. “And I will not hesitate to prosecute.”
He added that his office recently met with the district to try and open the lines of communication more than in the past.
“Our meeting was designed to carve a path forward to ensure we don’t repeat the failures and cover-ups of the past,” he said.
Saugerties Town Councilwoman Leeanne Thornton said a recent community forum showed the public was also frustrated with a lack of transparency and action from the SCSD.
“There were over 100 people in the room that night, many of them faculty, saying they kept hitting dead ends when they tried to report things,” Thornton said. She added that board members have since pledged that employees should not fear retaliation for speaking up.
Nneji said his goal is to move the district forward, not to punish staff for past inaction if they now come forward.
SCSD Superintendent Daniel Erceg could not be reached for comment as of press time. Erceg took the district leadership reins in March 2023, and was preceded by Kirk Reinhardt (2019–2023), Seth Turner (2009–2019), Richard Rhau (2004–2009), Michael Singleton (2001–2003) and Karen Hong (1995–2001).
While Nneji was critical of the school district, he credited the Saugerties Police Department (SPD) including Chief Kenneth Swart, with bringing the allegations against Kappler and Mills to his attention, and for being good partners in the ensuing investigation.
“My investigators worked around the clock, even conducting surveillance out of state to ensure the cases were handled thoroughly and safely,” Nneji said.
The day after the town board meeting, supervisor Fred Costello affirmed that the SPD is a good resource for reporting crimes.
“Our department is available,” he said. “We have a tips line, and we have other mechanisms where people can be interviewed or talk.”
Costello said it was critical for both the town and school district to ensure the public knows they’re on their side, particularly in a world where trust seems to be a diminishing commodity.
“I think there’s a broad institutional distrust,” he said. “And that’s not related directly to the town as an institution or the school (district) as an institution… We as a society have felt enough betrayal where there is a lot of skepticism. You only have to watch the news for a second to see that…I think the way build trust is to be open and transparent.”
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