MADISON COUNTY — A Madison County District Court judge has issued a bench warrant for Jerome Romero, a former teacher at Harrison School, after he failed to appear in court Monday.
Concerned parents and students gathered at the courthouse, expressing their ongoing distress over the allegations against Romero, who is accused of acting inappropriately toward students last year.
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Kendra Homner, a parent of a student at Harrison, was among those in attendance. “We came today for the arraignment of Jerome Romero, hoping to see some justice come for the crimes that he committed in our community,” she stated.
In court proceedings, Madison County Attorney David Buchler said a summons was issued to Romero's Las Vegas address, but he did not show up in court or via Zoom
"Normally, I would tell the state that I need more, but this is a failure to register. So, it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy of... if he's accused of not keeping his address as a violent sexual offender, and that kind of would make it hard to summon someone," says Judge Luke Berger.
Judge Luke Berger issued the warrant with a bond set at $50,000 following Romero's failure to show for his initial court appearance.
Kameron Hartman, a former student of Harrison, voiced the deep sense of betrayal felt by students. “I feel like when you're in school, you're supposed to trust the adults around you to keep you safe,” Hartman said, reflecting the sentiments of many who attended the hearing.
The situation surrounding Romero is compounded by past events involving Harrison School's administration. Last year, former Superintendent Sheryll Allen pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer during the investigation into Romero's alleged behavior. Parents and students say the scandal has devastated the school community.
“We are in a repair state,” said Nikki Edmundson, a member of the Harrison School Board. “We lost quite a few students—about 30 percent of our student body left. We are hoping they will come back when the trust is rebuilt."
Edmundson emphasized that restoring trust involves seeing justice served in both the case against Romero and the former superintendent. “And that’s why we will keep showing up to build back everything that was damaged and see justice to the end,” she added.
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