Pubdate: Tue, 29 Mar 2011 Source: Denver Post (CO) Copyright: 2011 The Denver Post Corp Contact: http://www.denverpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122 Author: Joey Bunch, The Denver Post PARENTS, APS OFFICIALS DICUSS D.A.R.E. OFFICER'S ARREST AURORA - Concerned parents attended a special informational meeting with Aurora Public Schools officials tonight after an in-school police officer was arrested Monday on child exploitation charges. Reporters were told to leave the administrative building. A school system spokeswoman said media was excluded on the advice of the district's lawyer. APS Superintendent John L. Barry said in statement that the meeting was closed because "we wanted an environment that was comfortable for parents and staff to ask questions and share concerns. "We held this meeting with a preponderance of caution to ensure that anyone who had information about Officer Mangino would have the opportunity to share their thoughts freely." Officer Michael Mangino, 50, was arrested Monday and is the second Aurora Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., program official to face sexual misconduct charges involving children since December. Mangino worked in six schools: Clyde Miller, Vaughn, Lyn Knoll and Arkansas elementaries in the Aurora Public Schools system, Eastridge Elementary in Cherry Creek, and St. Pius X Catholic School in Aurora. He turned himself in to the Adams County Sheriff's Department Monday to answer charges he solicited nude pictures from a 15-year-old runaway girl earlier this month. "I'm here because I'm concerned about my kid's safety," Elisa Almanea, whose son, a fifth-grader at Vaughn Elementary, attended the meeting with her, said outside the meeting. Another parent, who would not give his name, was more direct. "I want to know what the school system is doing to weed these perverts out," saif the father of two girls. "It doesn't appear they're doing much." . According to the charges, Mangino had taken the girl to The Children's Hospital in Aurora for a drug screening, after she admitted smoking pot. The girl later told police Mangino told her to use his Droid phone to take the nude pictures in private and then return it to him. At a press conference Monday to announce Mangino's arrest, officials said investigators found the nude photos on his personal phone. They also found a photo that focused on another girl's clothed buttocks, apparently taken in a classroom, in addition to sexually explicit photos of adult women. In December, Aurora Police Sgt. Morgan Sellman, 39, was arrested in El Paso County, accused of possessing hundreds of videos of child pornography depicting victims as young as 2 years old. Sellman was the D.A.R.E. coordinator and had not taught in schools since 2001, but instead managed the program's administrative tasks. His case is scheduled for a trial beginning Aug. 30. Police have encouraged anyone else who might have been victimized by Mangino to call Sgt. Joe Young at 303-739-6093 or the department's Crimes Against Children Unit at 303-739-6155. Mangino has been on unpaid leave since March 17 and free on $20,000 bond. He faces two felony counts of exploitation of a child and one felony count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, as well as misdemeanor charge of official misconduct. Until the 15-year-old's allegations, Mangino had a steller reputation, including being last year's Aurora Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian of the Year. At a press conference to announce Magino's arrest Monday, Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates called him a "respected and revered" officer in the department. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.