Police: Man impersonated girl's father, signed her out of school

MALVERN, AR - Malvern police have charged Benjamin Pitts with contributing to the delinquency of a minor as well as other crimes. Police say Pitts impersonated a 15-year-old's father and signed her out of school.

"She could have been killed. She could have been raped," said Arcenthal Stanton, mother of 15-year-old Destiny, a student at Malvern High School. "With what she done and what the school allowed to happen, something tragic could have happened."

Stanton and Malvern police say Pitts claimed to be Destiny's father and picked her up from school. Stanton says Pitts met Destiny on Facebook, and no one at the school asked him to show identification. Police say Pitts has a criminal record, including a charge of simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms.

"In the library it says you have to have ID to check out a library book," explained Stanton, "but you don't have to have ID to check out children? That's not right."

Malvern School District Superintendent Brian Golden says he can't speak publicly about specific actions of students or employees. However, he says it is school policy that anyone on campus has to show identification. Also, Golden released a statement, reading in part, "Please know that Malvern School District has acted swiftly in response to the allegations made and will ensure that its faculty and staff is re-oriented as to the relevant school policies."

As for Destiny, Stanton says she's fine and Pitts dropped her back off at school in time to take the bus home. Now though, Stanton wants the school to make sure this never happens again with Destiny or anyone else's child.

"There are 900 other students out there that needs protection," she said. "We don't know how many times these young people have pulled this same prank on the school administration and they have never caught it."

Stanton says she wants the Malvern School District to make parents aware of what happened to Destiny. Also, she wants signs posted in the school saying that anyone signing out a student must have identification.