Missouri School Official Charged With Assaulting 12-Year-Old Girl

ST. LOUIS, MO — Steven Langhorst, 64, has been charged with fourth-degree assault after being accused of patting a 12-year-old female student on the butt. As former field director of charter schools at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Langhorst provided guidance to privately-run but publicly-funded charter schools throughout the state.

It was at one of those schools — Hawthorn Leadership School for Girls — in February that a girl reported being inappropriately touched by Langhorst while walking in a hallway.

Hawthorn's executive director, Mary Stillman, told the Post-Dispatch: "We immediately reported the incident to the appropriate people and cooperated with law enforcement.The well-being of our students remains our primary concern."

According to his LinkedIn profile, Langhorst has worked in the position since 2013. A spokesperson for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said he was no longer an employee. Langhorst previously worked as a resource specialist for Missouri Professional Learning Communities, a state-sponsored school improvement organization. Before that, he was the principal of Bierbaum Elementary School in St. Louis County's Mehlville School District from 1997 to 2008.

Anyone with information about the incident or others should contact St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department at 314-231-1212.

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