School Official Won’t Face Wife-Abuse Charge

No criminal charges will be brought against the board president of the Antelope Valley Union High School District, who was arrested last month on suspicion of striking his wife during a marital dispute, the district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Prosecutors said they found insufficient evidence to file a misdemeanor spouse-abuse charge against William M. Olenick, who is seeking reelection to his school board seat in November. Also, his estranged wife decided not to press criminal charges, they added.

“This is a case of insufficient evidence from the get-go,” said Stephen L. Cooley, head deputy in the district attorney’s Antelope Valley office. “It would be inappropriate to file this case. There was absolutely no independent corroboration.”

Political Problem

The decision eases the political problem faced by Olenick, 37, who works as a county probation officer at a juvenile detention camp. He is one of seven candidates seeking three seats in the Nov. 7 election.

Wendy Olenick, 36, filed for divorce shortly after last month’s incident. The couple’s argument at their Quartz Hill area home on July 19 escalated when she ordered him out of the house, said sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors. Wendy Olenick claimed her enraged husband struck her in the mouth with the back of his hand, bloodying her lip.

Olenick maintained that his wife’s injury was self-inflicted. “He claimed she went into the bathroom and split her own lip” in a successful attempt to have him arrested by sheriff’s deputies, Cooley said.

Although there were no witnesses, Cooley said, officers are obligated to arrest the uninjured party in such cases because of a change in state law intended to curb spousal abuse. In the past, some police agencies have been criticized for overlooking domestic disputes.

“He gave us one version of events leading up to his arrest,” Cooley said. “She gave an entirely different version. There was no way to tell which one was telling the truth.”

Insufficient Evidence

During a preliminary review, the district attorney’s office concluded that there was insufficient evidence for prosecution, Cooley said. But the matter was referred to a district attorney’s hearing officer for review before a final decision.

The couple presented their conflicting versions of the incident at an Aug. 9 hearing. But hearing officer Janie Wible recommended against filing criminal charges, Cooley said, who added that there was no evidence of any prior abusive behavior by the husband.

Eugene E. Siegel, an attorney representing Wendy Olenick in her divorce case, said she declined to press criminal charges because she “really wants a peaceful resolution.”

The couple, who have a young son, have separated. Wendy Olenick continues to live in their Quartz Hill home. William Olenick has said he is living elsewhere but within the boundaries of the high school district, as election law requires. Neither could be reached for comment Thursday.

Olenick filed his nominating papers last Friday to qualify for the ballot in the school board contest, using the address of his former residence, where he remains registered to vote.