Ex-Coach Says School Board President Hushed Sex Allegations

A former football coach testified under oath that he reported to Burbank School Board President Joe Hooven that a teenage football player alleged that he had been seduced by Salle Dumm months before police were notified.

John W. Hazelton, who left as head varsity coach of the Burbank High School team last year amid a recruiting scandal, made the allegations in a Jan. 24 statement to a school board subcommittee investigating the football irregularities and the case of Dumm, who faces trial on a felony charge in the sex case.

“I gave Mr. Hooven the facts as I knew them about the liaison between Salle Dumm and this student,” Hazelton said, according to a 108-page transcript of the interview released by the school board.

“Mr. Hooven said, ‘that’s terrible. That’s awful. We can’t tell anyone about it. We have to keep it quiet. It could cause all of us a great deal of trouble. . . . He was rather manic about this incident being kept under wraps.”

Hazelton testified that he told Hooven about the July 14 incident allegedly involving Dumm, 50, president of the Burbank Educational Foundation, within days of its occurrence. Dumm was arrested and charged in November, and police said they had not been notified until then.

Hooven said he believes the matter has gotten “out of control,” but refused to comment on Hazelton’s allegations.

“I think we will be able to comment in the near future,” Hooven said. “We need to respond to this.”

Hooven has claimed he was exonerated by an earlier California Interscholastic Federation football investigation, and called the board’s inquiry into possible wrongdoing by him a “witch hunt.”

The school board subcommittee, composed of Vice President Michael McDonald and board member Denise Lioy Wilcox, was formed following the CIF investigation into allegations that Hooven and Hazelton had violated rules governing the recruitment of high school football players. The board subcommittee’s probe has expanded to also determine whether Hooven had any involvement in the investigation of the Dumm case, officials said. Hooven has refused to testify before the panel.

“As a board member, if I had personally received information like that, I would have reported it not only to the superintendent, but also to the police,” Wilcox said Thursday.

Board members Thursday renewed their call to Hooven to testify under oath before the investigating subcommittee.

“I do wish Mr. Hooven would change his mind and speak to the committee. He said he wants his name cleared, and it certainly would give us a clearer picture as to what took place,” said board member Elena Hubbell.

“Whether the allegations are true or false, any time you get any negative press regarding the board or one of its members, it undermines the faith people have in their elected officials.”

In the growing debate, Hooven drew some support. Jeff Jonas, a member of the selection committee that hired Hazelton in 1994 and a football supporter who was also interviewed under oath by the subcommittee, said he believes Hooven’s reputation may be sullied by mere “rumors and innuendo.”

“I’ve only known Mr. Hooven since he was elected, and I would consider him an acquaintance and an involved citizen, not a close friend,” Jonas said Thursday.

“I think he is getting a very raw deal. What is the purpose of this investigation? If they are not investigating criminal conduct, or conduct that is a violation of the administrative or education code, what is it?” Jonas asked.

McDonald defended the investigation, saying the panel is looking into “alleged improprieties in the actions of the president. . . . I don’t think he has done anything criminal. If there is any wrongdoing, it’s ethical or moral. But if these allegations are true, then we have some real issues to deal with in this community.”

The report of the CIF investigation, released in December, said that Hooven and Hazelton may have conspired to use “undue influence” to coerce several football players from Burroughs High and other schools outside the district to transfer to Burbank High, in violation of CIF policy.

A preliminary court hearing for Dumm, who has pleaded innocent to one felony count of having sex with a minor and one misdemeanor count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, is scheduled for later this month.

Dumm is accused of coercing the player into having sex with her by promising to provide $10,000 for the boy’s football team.

In his testimony, Hazelton said the boy was troubled by the incident, which led him to schedule several appointments for the boy with a counselor and to eventually tell another board member, who notified police.

Hazelton also charged in the transcript that Hooven lured him away from his previous job at Montclair Prep School to the Burbank coaching position by also promising a $42,000-a-year job as an activities director for the district. The post never materialized and now Hazelton, who resigned amid the controversy, is unemployed and has filed for bankruptcy, according to the testimony.

Hazelton could not be reached Thursday for comment.

In addition to Hazelton and Jonas, the subcommittee has interviewed school board member Elena Hubbell and former school board member Robert Dunivant. Transcripts of those interviews will be released in the coming weeks, officials said.

Wilcox and McDonald said they hope to conclude the investigation by the end of the month.