Peace University official resigns amid misconduct investigation
A William Peace University administrator resigned Tuesday amid a school investigation into allegations the official was in an inappropriate relationship with a student.
Posted — UpdatedPeace President Brian Ralph confirmed the investigation, but he declined to identify the staffer, who he said was no longer employed at the school.
Sources have told WRAL News that the allegation involved Athletics Director Kevin Daniels and that he recently stopped working at the school. His name is no longer listed on the website for Peace's athletics department.
No one answered the door at Daniels' home on Thursday.
The sources said Peace officials were warned months ago about Daniels' alleged involvement with members of the school's volleyball and softball teams. Daniels served as volleyball coach before being named athletics director.
"It just took so long for something so open – so out front – to come to a conclusion," one male student-athlete, who asked not to be identified, said Thursday. "In terms of seeing him and her together, it was almost a daily thing for anyone who was there."
Sources said that a group of students told human resources officials at Peace in October what they had seen for a while.
"[We] told them every single thing we knew," the student-athlete said. "They said they would follow up with a prompt investigation in a timely manner and that they would keep us updated. Neither of those things happened."
Another source said Ralph was informed directly of the concerns about Daniels in February.
"We didn't think the school was taking any of what we said serious at all," the student-athlete said.
When WRAL News inquired about the allegations this week, Ralph issued a four-sentence statement on Wednesday that officials were investigating, the staffer was no longer employed there and that it wasn't releasing any other details.
"The safety and wellbeing of our community remains our top priority," the statement concluded.
Ralph followed it up with a more detailed statement on Thursday:
The safety and wellbeing of our community is paramount. We expect all faculty and staff to uphold the highest ethical standards, and respect and integrity are chief among these."
School officials also released a statement to WRAL News to explain why Daniels remained in his position during the misconduct investigation.
"Based on the nature and level of information available, and because we must balance student and employee rights and privacy, we moved forward without making any changes to the employee’s status at that time. Additionally, throughout the investigation, all subjects, including the student rumored to be involved with the employee, denied involvement in inappropriate relationships.”
It's unclear whether the NCAA is investigating the situation.
Officials said they reacted to the allegations when they learned of them.
“When we received details regarding rumors of an employee engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a student in fall of 2018, we took the matter very seriously and immediately launched an internal investigation. As you know, because this was a sensitive personnel matter and to protect student privacy, we were not at liberty to discuss any details of the ongoing investigation with anyone, including those who reported the alleged misconduct to administration," the school said in a statement.
Related Topics
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.