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Atlantic City High School principal charged with official misconduct

By FOX 29 Staff
Updated  March 28, 2024 4:08pm EDT
Crime & Public Safety
FOX 29 Philadelphia

Atlantic City High School principal charged with official misconduct

Atlantic City High School Principal Constance Days-Chapman has been charged with official misconduct due to failure to report child abuse, officials say.

ATLANTIC CITY - The principal of Atlantic City High School, Constance Days-Chapman, has been charged with official misconduct, officials say.

Days-Chapman was charged with second-degree official misconduct, third-degree hindering apprehension of another, fourth-degree obstruction of justice, and disorderly persons failure to report child abuse.

According to police, on January 22, a student at Atlantic City High School informed a school staff member that the student had been emotionally and physically abused by the student’s parents and that the student had previously disclosed this abuse to Mrs. Days-Chapman. 

That same day, the school staff member discussed the matter with Days-Chapman. 

They say Days-Chapman denied that the student ever disclosed the abuse to her previously, but told the school staff member that she would report the matter to the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P, formerly known as DYFS).

Both the staff member and another eyewitness to the conversation believed that the principal was going to notify the authorities as they were leaving her office. 

They say the other eyewitness in the conversation told Days-Chapman that she would notify DCP&P, but Days-Chapman insisted that she would reach out. 

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Later that evening, police say Days-Chapman met with the student’s parents at the parents’ house and informed them that the student had disclosed to school staff that the juvenile was being abused by them. 

DCP&P confirmed that there was no disclosure reported to them regarding the abuse of the juvenile from Days-Chapman or any other member of the staff from Atlantic City High School. 

This incident was investigated by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit and the Professional Standards and Accountability Unit. 

Anyone with information about this incident or other serious crimes is asked to call the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office at 609-909-7800 or go to the Prosecutor’s Office’s Website at ACPO.Tips and provide information by filling out a form anonymously. Crime Stoppers: People can also call Crime Stoppers at 609-652-1234 or 1-800-658-8477 (TIPS) or visit the Crime Stoppers Website at http://www.crimestoppersatlantic.com/.

Crime Stoppers offers cash rewards for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those who commit crimes in Atlantic County.