Donald Mobelini: Principal let students drink, smoke in 2008, ignored rape allegation
Hazard High School in Hazard, Kentucky, is now at the center of a major scandal, after it emerged students performed lap dances for principal Donald Mobelini. Now-deleted pictures revealed students in underwear and bikinis dancing seductively, leading to a massive outcry. The school district has now opened an investigation into Mobelini, who also serves as the city's mayor.
All eyes are now on Hazard, where the school's homecoming activities have raised a lot of eyebrows. In the aftermath, Mobelini has now gone underground and is not responding to requests for comment. An investigation into the principal found that it isn't the first time he's been accused of questionable behavior. In fact, over a decade ago, he was investigated twice for alcohol-related incidents that also involved students.
Separately, in June, New York principal Evelina Medina was sued by her former secretary on allegations of sexual harassment. The same month, Florida principal Melissa Carter faced calls to be sacked, after a video revealed she spanked a six-year-old with a wooden paddle.
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Mobelini's questionable record surfaces
Back in 2008, 'Happy' Mobelini was investigated twice The Lexington Herald-Ledger reported. According to the report, the first time he was investigated was after photos surfaced of him driving students around, while they were in the back smoking and drinking vodka. Later, it emerged police caught several students drinking on the football field, just moments after Mobelini had left them. "Kids sneak and drink. They screwed up. I’m sorry I didn’t catch them. All I do is try my best to help students not drop out of school and get a diploma. I don’t try to harm them," he said about the first investigation.
Both incidents led to an investigation by state officials, but he was ultimately not charged because "he was unaware of the drinking," the 2008 report said. Notably, those two incidents are not the only ones on his record. Back in 2019, he was also named in a lawsuit after a student was raped on a trip. According to the report, the student alleges Mobelini and two other teachers didn't properly chaperone the trip, allowing students to drink, and leading a boy to rape her in 2017. At the time, the students were on a trip to New York City and Washington DC.
The student brought those claims to the principal, but reportedly he "did not handle the investigation into her allegations properly." That led to the lawsuit being filed, which Mobelini and the teachers have asked to be dismissed. Court records show that a jury trial is scheduled for August 2022 in the case.
Homecoming events go viral
On October 26, the Hazard High School held a homecoming activity listed as "man pageant" on its Facebook page. Photos from the events show scantily-clad students giving the principal a lap dance, including both male and female students. Male students are seen dancing in their underwear, while female students were snapped in bikinis while Mobeini was caught with a large smile.
Other photos show girls dressed as Hooters staff, complete with what appears to be mugs with alcohol at the event. Even more photos reveal the boys getting paddled. All the photos have now been taken down, as has the school's athletics page on Facebook. But, before it was, screenshots of the posts went viral leading to massive outrage. On October 27, Hazard Independent Superintendent Sondra Combs issued a statement saying an investigation was underway.
"Our district would like to apologize for the activity that has been portrayed in the media and we regret how this has unfolded," Combs said. She added "appropriate disciplinary action has been taken" but declined to go into specifics about who was held responsible, and what action they faced. "As it is a personnel matter, we are not allowed to disclose any further information regarding the specifics of the discipline," she said.
Along with the apology, Combs also noted that the school was making numerous policy changes. For one, a dress code would be implemented for all future activities, along with a student activity committee to review all events and activities. "Using this as a teachable moment, we will provide social media training for our students and staff," she added. Combs also said, "At the end of the day, the light-hearted activity simply got out of hand, and for that, we apologize. In the future, we will strive to keep the lighthearted, fun nature of school activities without the inappropriate behavior."