Delaware
More fallout from bogus degree of Del. school therapist charged with child rape
																								
												
												
											 
No action after hospital psychologist questioned credentials
Arnold’s arrest also spurred Brandywine to re-examine his nearly three years with the district.
Officials learned that two months before Arnold’s arrest, a psychologist at Nemours Children’s Hospital near Wilmington had alerted four administrators from Lombardy and the Brandywine district that the qualifications Arnold claimed might be bogus.
The district launched an investigation in July and suspended the four officials with pay while an outside attorney reviewed the matter. The four officials included Lombardy principal Michael McDermott, assistant principal Cara Beach, and Nicole Warner, district director of special education, WHYY News has learned from officials familiar with the matter.
Brandywine Superintendent Lisa Lawson, who was promoted from deputy superintendent days before Arnold’s arrest, told WHYY News earlier this month that officials made serious missteps, such as not notifying human resources officials about the Nemours complaints.
Beyond questioning Arnold’s credentials, the Nemours psychologist told Brandywine that Arnold had been confrontational with a hospital intern after insisting, even though he was not a licensed psychologist, that a young boy he was counseling had a mood disorder, Lawson told WHYY News. The hospital had diagnosed the child with autism.
Yet none of Nemours’ concerns reached Brandywine’s HR office, or Lawson herself, she said.
At Brandywine’s board meeting last week, members discussed the actions of the four employees behind closed doors in executive session, and later approved the district’s disciplinary recommendations at the public session.
Though the board didn’t name names and merely voted to “approve employee matter” 25-005, 25-006, 25-007, and 25-008, sources familiar with the matter said the members voted to terminate Warner, whose old post has been filled on an interim basis by Josette McCullough.
The sources said the board voted to dock pay fromMcDermott and Beach, who are back at work running Lombardy, where classes started Monday. The district took no action against the fourth, unidentified employee.
Lawson would not confirm who was disciplined.
“What I can say is that, based on the third party investigator’s recommendation for disciplinary consequences, we moved forward accordingly based on those recommendations,’’ Lawson said Monday.
Lawson added that employees have 10 days to request a hearing on the district’s decisions.
The superintendent also said Arnold was fired in July and could have sought a hearing from prison, but did not. No date for his criminal trial has been set.
Before the board vote, Lawson apologized and expressed her “deep regret” to members and the public about the district’s mishandling of the Nemours complaint.
She promised “accountability for those actions” as well as “consistent and fair consequences for all employees.”
Lawson also said the district would be “revisiting our hiring processes in collaboration’’ with the state, enhancing training on “ethical conduct and students safety, and creating more robust channels for reporting concerns directly to human resources.”
																	
																															Delaware
Arson displaces 4 in Delaware Street home in Indianapolis
														 
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A fire intentionally set inside a home on Monday afternoon displaced four adults, according to a social media post from the Indianapolis Fire Department.
Crews were sent just before 2 p.m. Monday to the home at 2940 N. Delaware St. That’s in the Nickols North Park housing addition about two blocks north of East Fall Creek Parkway North Drive.
No injuries were reported.
Investigators did not publicly share a possible motive behind the arson.
Firefighters found heavy fire and thick black smoke coming from the second floor of the two-story home on the city’s near-north side. The fire in a second-floor room had extended into the attic.
The fire was marked under control within 15 minutes.
This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.
Delaware
State Police Investigating a Shots Fired Incident in Dover – Delaware State Police – State of Delaware
														 
Delaware State Police are investigating a shots fired complaint stemming from a road rage incident that occurred Saturday afternoon in Dover.
On November 1, 2025, at approximately 5:00 p.m., troopers responded to the area of North Dupont Highway, near Fork Branch Road, for a report of shots fired. The preliminary investigation revealed that as the victim was traveling southbound on North Dupont Highway, approaching Fork Branch Road, she drove around a slower moving pickup truck. While the victim was waiting at the red light on North Dupont Highway, at Fork Branch Road, the pickup truck stopped on the shoulder next to her. For reasons still under investigation, the driver of the pickup truck fired a single shot, striking the victim’s vehicle, then fled. The victim, a 56-year-old woman from Dover, Delaware, was not injured.
The fleeing vehicle was described as a dark colored pickup truck, pulling a trailer, which possibly displayed a Delaware registration plate on the trailer. The driver was described as a white male, with a slim build and facial hair, wearing a baseball hat.
The Delaware State Police Troop 3 Criminal Investigations Unit continues to investigate this incident. Detectives are asking anyone who witnessed the incident or has relevant information to contact Detective S. Heitzman at (302) 698-8555. Information may also be provided by sending a private Facebook message to the Delaware State Police or contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1-800-847-3333.
If you or someone you know is a victim or witness of a crime or have lost a loved one to a sudden death and need assistance, the Delaware State Police Victim Services Unit / Delaware Victim Center is available to offer you support and resources 24 hours a day through a toll-free hotline at 1-800-VICTIM-1 (1-800-842-8461). You may also email the Victim Services Unit at DSP_VictimServicesMail@delaware.gov.
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Delaware
Delaware not quite up to FBS, Conference USA standards in 59-30 loss at Liberty
														 
Blue Hens bashed 59-30 in Conference USA football game at Liberty
Coach Ryan Carty, LB Dillon Trainer discuss lopsided Delaware loss
LYNCHBURG, Va. – For the first time this year, Delaware looked out of its league.
That was bound to happen at some point for the Blue Hens, first-year members of Conference USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision that they are.
And it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that their exposure came on the campus of Liberty University, inside Williams Stadium, against a scenic Appalachian Mountains backdrop to the west.
It was truly a perfect college football setting in which Delaware’s imperfections were revealed.
That Liberty, who took an unbeaten record to the Fiesta Bowl just two years ago, was the opponent who uncovered the Blue Hens’ flaws was only a bit surprising. The Flames had not been their usual ferocious selves this year.
Based on its recent performances, it actually appeared Delaware had a prayer against the Flames.
Those answered, however, were the exclusive domain of evangelically rooted Liberty on this day, which showed no mercy for each Delaware indiscretion in its 59-30 romp.
There were a multitude of those, including Delaware having to settle for three points instead of earning six or seven three times in the first half, with failed execution and penalties among the culprits there. It sent Delaware into halftime down 28-9.
And Liberty surely took advantage of each shortcoming while also running roughshod over the Blue Hens. Evan Dickens ran for a career-high 217 yards and four touchdowns, including his 72-scoring sprint on the second play of the second half.
It put Liberty ahead 35-9, which had to feel eerily familiar to the Blue Hens. They’d fallen behind 35-6 in their 38-25 loss at Jacksonville State Oct. 15.
Delaware did appear more overmatched in this one, however, and again went about inflating its passing stats while playing catchup.
“It’s just an all-around butt whoopin’ is what it was,” coach Ryan Carty said afterward.
Particularly pivotal moments occurred in the second quarter. Down 14-6 with fourth-and-6 at its own 28, Delaware attempted a fake punt on which Gavin Moul took the snap and then pitched to K.T. Seay.
Liberty wasn’t fooled, dropping Seay for a 7-yard loss. The Flames scored two plays later to go up 14-6.
“It was a terrible call in hindsight,” Carty said. “So that is what it is. Sometimes you make those . . . It was just a well-defended play. But the look that we saw was conducive to it and the kid made a nice play, kind of ran right into it.”
Delaware did punt on its next series and almost had quarterback Ethan Vasko sacked on a third-and-8 at his 47 before he completed a 17-yard pass. Then, on a 19-yard catch that put Liberty at the 1, Seay appeared to have forced a fumble on which the ball hit the pylon – which would have been a touchback giving Delaware possession – but referees and replay officials ruled otherwise.
That was extremely pivotal. A touchdown there and another following an interception quickly put the Flames in command 28-6. It seemed like Delaware’s likelihood of winning had nearly vanished in an instant.
That’s where it’s important to remember that, as well as Delaware played to beat UConn and Florida International and nearly stun Western Kentucky, the Hens are first-year CUSA members. They’ve had one recruiting class and some transfer portal additions to build on what was already a very good FCS-level roster.
But this business of big-time college football is pitiless. Opportunity must be seized. Muscle and speed and smarts must be met with more of each.
And mistakes get magnified, especially against a foe as formidable as Liberty.
 On Nov. 1, they amplified the fact that, for Delaware, the 2025 seasons is an initiation and the Hens still have a lot to learn.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
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