Darden turns himself in, then heads back for "treatment"

It's not the treatment in rehab he needs to be worried about. It's the treatment he'll be receiving from his new friends in jail.

Former Yazoo teacher returns to rehab


YAZOO CITY — Former Manchester Academy teacher Richard Darden is back in rehab today after turning himself in to authorities Thursday evening.

Yazoo County Sheriff Tommy Vaughan said Darden arrived at his office around 5 p.m. with his attorney. This morning, Darden made his initial court appearance in which Justice Court Judge Pam May set bond at $200,000, and Darden was ordered back into rehabilitation.

Once Darden finishes, the Sheriff's Department will place him in county jail under the bond. Vaughan said he did not know for how much longer Darden would need treatment.

"It sounded like it would be several weeks," he said. The sheriff would not say what specifically Darden is seeking treatment for other than an "addiction."

Darden's attorney, Cynthia Stewart, said her client "is innocent until proven guilty. All we have now is just allegations and many of them made in a lawsuit seeking money."

Vaughan said his investigators waited to take Darden into custody "because there were so many complaints filed we had to investigate each on independently and that takes time. We don't work on hearsay."

More than 100 students have come forward with allegations against Darden. Many are minors.

Investigator Dennis Moulder said he has yet to interview Darden because the suspect's attorney refused.

Investigators have been through Darden's house and have taken several items of evidence. Moulder also confirmed finding a room from where Darden may have watched students.

As for claims of abuse conducted at the school, Moulder said there is no firm evidence anything occurred at Manchester Academy.

Vaughan also said he is not investigating accusations against Darden made in the suit filed Wednesday in Yazoo County Circuit Court.

"I haven't seen it. I don't want to see it. I don't deal with civil. I deal with criminals," he said.

Clarion Ledger



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Arrest warrant includes three counts of child exploitation

YAZOO CITY — Yazoo County officials want to arrest a former high school teacher they say behaved inappropriately with students, but they can't find him.

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Richard Darden, who until recently taught biology at Manchester Academy for more than 25 years, on three counts of child exploitation and three counts of voyeurism.

Authorities said Darden had a special room in his home that allowed him to secretly watch young men as they dressed and undressed in the bathroom.

Darden, who resigned from Manchester earlier this month, faces 40 years in prison on each exploitation count and five years on each voyeurism count.

After allegations were raised at school on the morning of May 7, Darden checked into a rehabilitation facility before authorities could question him.

"They involved three male students that are all underage that went to Manchester. None of the actions that occurred were on school property," Sheriff Tommy Vaughn said during a news conference on Monday.

Cynthia Stewart, Darden's attorney, wouldn't say where her client is being treated or what he is being treated for.

"We've made arrangements to handle it appropriately, and I can't comment beyond that," Stewart told The Clarion-Ledger.

"She knows the smartest thing to do is to accompany him up here to face the charges," Vaughn said.

Yazoo County law enforcement authorities said if Stewart doesn't tell them where Darden is within the next week or two, they'll have her in court.

Three male student athletes - whose average age is around 16, authorities said - found the peeping area and confronted Darden on May 6. That evening, Darden reportedly went to his minister before going to the school's headmaster, Bryan Dendy.

Dennis Moulder, chief investigator for the Yazoo County Sheriff's Department, has talked to more than 100 people in the community since the case broke.

Darden, who isn't married, was popular with students. Authorities said students often hung out at his home, appear to have dropped by unannounced and may have called him when they had been drinking alcohol.

The Clarion Ledger