IPS employee returns to school after domestic battery, strangulation charges
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An IPS employee and coach charged with criminal confinement, strangulation, domestic battery and eight other charges in July was allowed to return to Arsenal Technical High School for the 2018-2019 school year, a WISH-TV investigation has uncovered.
Keith Dabney was Arsenal Tech’s head basketball coach a couple years ago. He lost that job last year, but parents say he stayed at the school as an employee. Parents told News 8 he also worked as an assistant coach at another IPS school this year.
IPS email records obtained by News 8 reveal that Dabney taught Intro To Computer Science for part of the first semester of the 2018-2019 school year. He was being considered for a promotion to Business Teacher prior to WISH-TV’s investigation. An IPS spokesperson describes Dabney as a “campus monitor.”
A charging document states that, back in July, Dabney’s girlfriend told detectives he attacked her, held a knife to her neck, threatened to kill her and told her to delete pictures of Dabney that she had.
WISH-TV started investigating Dabney before learning about the charges. Multiple Arsenal Tech parents said they were concerned about a sexual video of Dabney that was circulating among students.
A parent showed the graphic video to a WISH-TV reporter. It is a sexual video showing a man who looks like Dabney. No one else is visible in the video.
IPS on Friday did not say how students obtained the video, but some parents say they have heard Dabney did not intend for students to see it.
One Arsenal Tech dad asked to remain anonymous because he wanted to protect his son.
“It worried me. It kind of bothered me. Because he’s there for education and this could be, kind of throwing him off his focus,” the parent said. “I am pretty sure, at school right now, that’s the topic of every subject going on right now instead of learning.”
WISH-TV asked Indianapolis Public Schools why Dabney was allowed to return to the school this year after prosecutors charged him and how the students got a hold of the video.
They did not answer those questions on Friday, but a district spokesperson sent the following statement:
“We are aware of an occurrence that took place between two consenting adults, including an IPS employee. Details were allegedly shared with students at Arsenal Tech. This did not occur on the school’s campus, nor did it include any current students.
“We are also aware of an ongoing investigation involving this employee. While we do not discuss personnel matters, we do take the safety of our students and staff very seriously. We will continue working diligently to ensure that our schools remain an excellent environment for teaching and learning.”
The district did not answer WISH-TV’s questions about whether Dabney will be fired or punished.
One parent told News 8 that her daughter had not seen Dabney in a few days.
It is unclear if the video shared among students is at all related to the images Dabney’s girlfriend said she was threatened over. A charging document states Dabney told police he did not hold a knife to her throat or hit her.
Court records show Dabney is scheduled for a jury trial early next year.
Email records show that, after WISH-TV asked IPS officials about the charges, Dabney was placed on administrative suspension without pay.