Former Monterey County vice principal charged with failure to report child abuse

Former Carmel High School Vice Principal Debra Puente recently pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of failing to report child abuse.

The District Attorney’s office charged Puente with failure of a mandated report to report child abuse or neglect on Jan. 29. According to the criminal complaint documents, the District Attorney’s office alleges that Puente’s failure to report occurred “on or between” March 1, 2022 through Feb. 9, 2023.

The District Attorney’s Office confirmed that an investigation by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office led to the charges against Puente. The Sheriff’s Office declined to provide information on the investigation due to it being open.

According to California Penal Code, all school district employees and administrators are mandated reporters, meaning they are required by law to report all known or suspected cases of child abuse or neglect – regardless of whether the allegations are valid.

To make a report, employees are required to contact an appropriate local law enforcement or county child welfare agency. Making a report to a supervisor does not satisfy the legal obligation, the California Department of Education says.

California Penal Code states that a person who fails to make a required report is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine.

A $3,500 arrest warrant – which was later recalled – was issued for Puente on Feb. 26 after she failed to appear for her arraignment on Feb. 23.

But Puente’s lawyer, Larry Biegel said Puente was not made aware of her court date or the charges against her.

“My first impression is that the people in responsible positions in this district – it’s just a mess,” Biegel said of the case.

Biegel said while he is still discovering more about the case, he believes the case against Puente involves a male special education student who had been harassing male and female students in the district.

“There were all kinds of things that he had done to other students at the school that were seeping into the district, seeping into the administration and everyone was handling it differently,” Biegel said. “It’s a mess. I’m still trying to understand whose responsibility it was and what they did about it.”

Biegel said Puente did a lot of work on the case and did inform others of the student’s behavior. But Bigel said the issue comes down to the way the district handled cases of harassment and who was deemed responsible.

“The question is whether the law was complied with and I don’t have an answer to that,” he said. “I know (Puente) believes she did … The question is did she hit all of the requirements of the law. There was certainly never an intention not to follow the law.”

Biegel also pointed out that the length of time included in the charges – March 1, 2022 through Feb. 9, 2023 – is unusual in cases like Puente’s.

He added that Puente was aware there was an investigation into the district by the Sheriff’s Office.

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“The point is everyone knew about this. It wasn’t just one person and so I’m trying to figure out whose responsibility it was and why were processes not really followed,” he said. “Why is she taking the fall for the processes that just seem to fall completely apart in this case?”

Puente resigned from her position as assistant principal of Carmel High School in June. She is now working as principal of Branciforte Middle School in Santa Cruz.

Biegel said Puente is still working in the district and has not been placed on administrative leave.

According to Monterey County Superior Court records, Puente’s case is scheduled to continue April 25 at 9:30 a.m. for pre-trial conference.

The Carmel Unified School District re-directed questions from the Herald to the Sheriff’s Office.