BOISE, Idaho — Former Boise School District principal Christopher Ryan formally pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to a felony charge of Injury to Child.
Ryan was indicted by a grand jury earlier this month, accused of willfully allowing a child to be “placed in a situation endangering her health or person”.
RELATED | Former Boise principal charged with Felony Injury to Child for 2022 incident
State prosecutors argue that while in his role as principal, Ryan allowed a 13-to-14-year-old girl to be alone with an adult male “while having notice that the adult male was behaving in a way that was inappropriate and/or unlawful toward the child.”
Ryan’s attorney, Jeffrey Brownson, formally entered a not-guilty plea for his client at the Ada County Courthouse Wednesday and requested a speedy trial.
The trial is scheduled to start on February 20, 2024, and will take three to four days. A no-contact order was also served.
The criminal charge comes amid three ongoing lawsuits filed on behalf of two victims and their families against Chris Ryan, Fairmont Junior High School, and the Boise School District.
The defendants are accused of mishandling concerns of abuse involving the school's social worker, Scott Crandell, who died by suicide last December after police began investigating. The lawsuits accuse Crandell of inappropriate communication with minor students and sexually abusing multiple young girls at the school while working in his role as a social worker.
RELATED| Lawsuit claims Boise School District staff did not investigate reports of abuse
Ryan was the principal at Fairmont Junior High at the time and has been on paid administrative leave with the district since May.
