Who's screening our kids' coaches?

Another man employed by a Twin Cities area school district has been charged with having sex with an underage girl. It is the second such case in the past two weeks.

On Thursday, Washington County authorities charged a 48-year-old self-defense instructor in the Forest Lake schools' community education program with having sex with a 15-year-old student. Ladislao (Audi) Enriquez faces one count each of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

On Dec. 7, it was an assistant hockey coach at Robbinsdale Cooper High School facing charges of having sex with a 16-year-old player.

"It's just nauseating when these things happen. It seems like no matter what we do, [sexual abusers] sneak through the cracks," Rep. Mindy Greiling, DFL-Roseville, said Thursday.

The back-to-back cases have spurred calls about the need for tougher screening standards across the state for coaches, teachers and other adults in similar contact with students.

In 1991, Minnesota loosened the requirement that head coaches be licensed. Meanwhile, the exponential growth in school sports has increased the need for coaches and the difficulties of oversight.

Though Minnesota school districts are required to do Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) checks on all employees, interpreting a criminal record is left up to the districts.

"If the Legislature [passes laws], that's going to ensure uniformity throughout the state," he said. "Some school districts are strapped for money, so they may not have as rigorous a process as the state would impose."

The Cooper coach, whose next court date is next Friday, was hired after a background check that turned up convictions for driving without a license and violating a restraining order, as well as bookings on misdemeanor offenses, including theft.

Greiling is working on a bill that would require districts to verify with the Minnesota Board of Teaching whether a teacher's license had ever been suspended or revoked, which could uncover inappropriate contact with students.

In light of the recent incidents, she said the discussion might need to be broadened to strengthen scrutiny of coaches and other instructors. "That's the sad thing [about these situations]," she said. "Self-defense instructors and coaches should be trusted adults."

Statistics are scarce

She told police that the sexual contact with Enriquez escalated in intensity over several months, and reported the incidents to her mother on Dec. 14, the complaint said.

In the Cooper case, Nathan Paul Antrim, 35, of Rogers, who was not a teacher, was accused of having intercourse with a 16-year-old player on the high school girls team.

Though statistics on such sexual misconduct are scarce, the best numbers come from a 1998 American Association of University Women survey, said Charol Shakeshaft, who analyzed existing data for a 2004 U.S. Department of Education report.

In the AAUW study:

• 9.6 percent of students reported they had experienced "educator sexual misconduct."

• 56 percent of the sexual abuse victims were girls.

Background checks

Some districts augment the required BCA checks with a run through the FBI and county databases. Still, background checks can only indicate what a person has done in the past.

In Antrim's case, the infractions turned up on the background check were not enough to end-run his employment by the district, said Nancy Rajanen, Robbinsdale's assistant superintendent of administrative and support services.

Any sign of violence or inappropriate behavior around kids, she stressed, is a deal-breaker for candidates.

Carissa Fredrickson, communications coordinator for the district, said the district does do a "risk assessment" on instructors who work one-on-one with community education students.

Years ago, head coaches were licensed by the Minnesota Department of Education, said David Stead, executive director of the Minnesota State High School League. But, over time, fewer young teachers wished to add coaching to their responsibilities, and districts were faced with a shortage of qualified candidates. The state Department of Education became overwhelmed by requests for license waivers, so in 1991 the Legislature determined that non-licensed community members could coach, with training.

University of Minnesota exercise physiologist Stacy Ingraham, who trains coaches for teaching licensure, said the state's decision to stop requiring coaches to have a teaching license put students in greater danger. "We took a big step backward when we relinquished the licensing of coaches," she said.

What's a parent's role?

Mounds View High School Activities Director Bob Madison noted the difficulty in supervising 100-plus coaches. He thinks increased oversight can do only so much.

Teresa Peterson and Karen Laughlin, two Edina moms who watched their sons take to the ice at hockey practice recently at Minneapolis' Parade Stadium, pondered their own roles in keeping their kids safe.

"You want to be trusting," said Laughlin, who has two sons and a daughter. "I want to trust people. And I don't want my kids to be scared. Aware, not fearful."

Peterson, who has three sons, said she has trained her kids to maintain personal space and trust their guts.

"It's all about what do you feel comfortable with," she said. "I tell my kids all the time, if you don't feel good about it, it's probably wrong."