Temporary custodian arrested for alleged sexual misconduct
Alleged incident occurred after normal school day
November 10, 2015
Senior Brenda Hernandez said she has always felt afraid of being at school after the school day, but now she said she feels even more scared of the school after hearing about the custodian arrested recently for sexual misconduct.
“I think I read it somewhere on Facebook. Someone posted it and I was like ‘what?’ I was a little surprised. I couldn’t believe it,” Hernandez said. “The school should be more careful about who’s working.”
Fasel Mohamed Ali, a custodian hired by St. Louis Park Public Schools through a temporary work agency, was arrested for nonconsensual sexual conduct at the high school.
The victim called the police at 10:30 p.m. Oct. 9 after Ali alledgedly asked her to let him into the locker room to find his cell phone, and then proceeded to touch her in a sexual manner, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office report.
Additionally, Ali’s criminal records include two other misdemeanor charges in Minnesota, including second-degree driving while impaired (DWI) and assault in the fifth degree.
From multiple states’ public records, including California and Arizona, Ali was also charged with six prior DWI’s and arrested for a felony motor vehicle theft in Phoenix.
Upon arriving at the school, police officers found Ali hiding in the locker room shower, arrested him and currently have Ali in custody.
Future steps
Thompson said, in the future, the district will use substitute custodians and will now require all employees from outside companies to undergo background checks done by the district. A job listing for substitute custodians can be found on the district’s hiring site, with the hourly pay at $14.
“We currently have job openings for our own St. Louis Park Public Schools substitute custodians, similar to the substitute teacher process currently used by the district,” Thompson said. “These substitute custodians will be screened and have a full state and federal background check.”
Meyers said he believes the district and school are taking the right steps toward making sure another incident of this nature doesn’t happen again.
“The school and district are working together now to really ask the questions about what do we need to do make sure something like this doesn’t happen again. I feel confident that some of these steps have been taken already,” Meyers said.
Both Command Center’s Hopkins branch and national headquarters declined to comment on the is- sue, and questions asked to Tom Bravo, the district’s facilities manager, Richard Kreyer, the district’s human resources director and Rob Metz, the superintendent, were rerouted back to Thompson. Ali’s court date is set for Jan. 12.
The Echo used an outside investigator to aid in fact-checking this story.
The Echo will continue to investigate this issue.