Board Chief Knew of Sex Allegation

The embattled president of the Burbank Board of Education conceded Friday that he knew about the alleged illegal sexual liaison between a 50-year-old woman and a Burbank High School football player months before police learned of the incident, but denied accusations that he had tried to conceal the incident.

In a written statement, Joe Hooven said that former Burbank High varsity football Coach John Hazelton had told him in a phone conversation last July that Salle Dumm, president of the Burbank Educational Foundation, had allegedly taken a 17-year-old football player to bed with her, promising the boy that she would donate money to his team.

Dumm is facing trial in Burbank Superior Court on a felony charge of having intercourse with a minor and a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

“On a Sunday evening in July,” Hooven said Friday, “I received a phone call from John Hazelton. He informed me of an alleged physical contact between a student and the president of the Burbank Education Foundation.”

But Hooven said in his statement that he did not relay the report to the school board, school district administrators or police because he considered it “third-hand” information. However--contradicting Hazelton’s version of the conversation--Hooven said he encouraged Hazelton to do so if he believed the report.

As an elected official, Hooven is not required by law to report incidents of child abuse to the school district or to authorities, as are teachers and other employees of the district. But a subcommittee of the Burbank school board is investigating whether Hooven had knowledge of the alleged affair between Dumm and the boy, and if so, whether he acted improperly in not immediately reporting it to the school board and to police.

Hooven’s statement contradicts sworn testimony by Hazelton in an interview with the school board’s investigating committee, according to transcripts that were released by the district this week.

In the transcripts, Hazelton said he called Hooven last July, just days after the alleged sexual encounter between the woman and the football player, but Hooven told him to “keep it quiet.” Hazelton testified that he did as Hooven wished for several months, then reported the matter to school district officials, who notified police.

The school board’s investigating committee has asked Hooven to testify under oath about the Dumm case and about allegations that he and Hazelton were involved in a football recruiting scandal, but Hooven has declined, district officials said.

In a related action, a Municipal Court judge Friday denied a defense attorney’s request to close Dumm’s preliminary hearing and seal court records.

Judge Rand Rubin, siding with attorneys for The Times and other news media, agreed to keep open the preliminary hearing--as well as court records and transcripts. The preliminary hearing is scheduled to begin Feb. 22.

Dumm’s attorney, Jacque Boyle, had asked the court to seal all records and transcripts and to impose a gag order because he said news reports have been inaccurate and could have prejudiced prospective jurors.

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Shuster is a Times staff writer and Ryfle is a correspondent.