John Ervin Arnold, a psychologist in Delaware’s Brandywine School District since 2021, has provided counseling to numerous young girls and boys who have faced trauma or behavioral challenges.
Arnold resides in the peaceful suburban neighborhood of Fairfax in Wilmington. He began his career at Mount Pleasant Elementary School and later moved on to Lombardy Elementary. Lately, he has been involved in Brandywine’s summer school program at Claymont Elementary.
This week, District Superintendent Lisa Lawson assured that there have been no problems or issues in Brandywine schools regarding Arnold, who earns an annual salary of $102,000.
However, outside of the classroom, as stated in a police arrest affidavit obtained by WHYY News, young girls in Arnold’s family have come forward and accused him of sexual abuse that has occurred over the years. In addition to the ongoing investigation into the serious allegations made by a 5-year-old Delaware girl, Arnold attempted to take his own life this month and received treatment at the psychiatric unit of Christiana Hospital, according to the warrant.
Arnold, who is 47 years old, is currently facing multiple felony charges for the alleged crimes committed against the girl. These charges include first- and second-degree rape.
The suspect, hailing from western Maryland and working as a private psychologist in Florida, has been held on a cash bail of $1.05 million since Friday at the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington.
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According to the warrant, Arnold was accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with a 5-year-old victim, who had reported the incidents over two years ago. After being examined by a physician and a psychologist, Arnold claimed to the doctors that it was the toddler who had touched him inappropriately. The medical reports ultimately labeled the girl’s behavior as a “behavioral issue,” resulting in the police not being notified, according to the warrant.
On July 1, a significant event occurred when the girl was attending day camp. During a conversation about “good touches and bad touches,” she made shocking accusations about Arnold, according to the warrant.
Police and state child abuse investigators were promptly alerted, and the girl underwent an examination at Nemours Children’s Hospital near Wilmington. During the examination, she reiterated the accusations, as stated in the warrant.
The investigation uncovered new information when the girl’s mother revealed her child’s previous claims and the suspicion that Arnold had molested another relative in Florida years ago. A New Castle County police detective later interviewed the woman, who is now in her early 20s, and she shared similar experiences of abuse by Arnold during her childhood. She claimed that he would tell her, “Don’t tell anyone, this is our secret.”
According to the warrant, the woman informed the detective that two other female relatives had disclosed incidents of sexual abuse by Arnold during their childhood in Cumberland, Maryland.
Arnold has not faced any charges related to the allegations made by those women. According to the Delaware police, the individual claimed that the woman involved in the incidents in Florida fabricated the story as a means of diverting attention from their own misconduct, which had led to contact with the police.
Arnold vehemently denied any allegations of abuse against the 5-year-old Delaware child, according to the warrant. He expressed his awareness that if found guilty of such a heinous crime, he would face a lifetime in prison.
Arnold informed the police that he understood a young child wouldn’t have knowledge about sexual acts or male anatomy. However, he claimed that the child accidentally walked in on him while he was taking a bath and mentioned that a boy at her preschool had exposed himself to the class.
According to the warrant, Arnold’s behavior took a turn for the worse after the police investigation started on July 1.
However, on July 3rd, Arnold had plans to visit his family in Maryland. Upon his failure to arrive, the authorities were promptly informed and guided to one of his Instagram accounts. There, they discovered an unsettling image depicting a male seemingly shooting himself in the head, as stated in the warrant.
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Arnold was discovered by the police at a hotel in Delaware, where he adamantly denied any connection to the social media account in question and refuted any claims of being suicidal. After undergoing a remote mental evaluation, he was cleared and able to return to his hotel room.
On July 6, a co-worker from the Brandywine district expressed concern to the police about his safety due to some comments he had made. Arnold was located by state police in the parking lot of Concord Mall, approximately two and a half miles away from his residence. Troopers discovered that he had reached out to a crisis hotline and stated that he was in the process of attempting self-harm.
According to Arnold, he had initially planned to harm himself but ended up ingesting numerous prescription pills instead. The individual was transported to Wilmington Hospital and subsequently transferred to Christiana Hospital for a mental health assessment, according to the warrant reviewed by WHYY News.
Police continued their investigation into a rape case and on July 9, they observed the 5-year-old’s forensic interview with the Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides support for child abuse cases. According to the warrant, the child’s account remained consistent with what she had previously stated at camp and Nemours hospital.
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