Hall Monitor with a Moral Vacancy

There are many professions a man may enter without a special talent; politics comes to mind, but standing guard over children ought to require at least a passing acquaintance with decency. Failing that, one might try something safer, like juggling axes.

The Clark County School District Police Department arrested 43-year-old Antonio Vaughan on Tuesday, after what the district describes as an investigation that began in February at Jack Lund Schofield Middle School. Mr. Vaughan, employed by the district since 2018 and most recently a campus security monitor, now finds himself booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges involving unlawful contact with a minor.

A judge, displaying the rare and refreshing habit of taking such matters seriously, set bail at $250,000. Mr. Vaughan is on unpaid leave, which is a polite way of saying the district prefers he conduct his affairs elsewhere for the time being.

It is a curious feature of modern institutions that they can produce handbooks thick enough to stun a mule, yet still fail to ensure the obvious: that those stationed to protect children do not become their chief concern. We hire watchers, then must watch the watchers, and still find ourselves surprised when the arrangement proves insufficient.

They will inform the public that they followed procedures, stayed within policy, and learned a lesson. These are comforting phrases, much like a lullaby, useful for sleep, but less so for vigilance.

Meanwhile, parents send their children off each morning with trust as their only guarantee, and trust, as it turns out, does not come with a badge.