By Kyle Jackson
Since his arrest on Sept. 1, the criminal case against a former Grand Rapids Community College education student accused of abusing dozens of children at two West Michigan day care centers has developed from an initial nine charges to 62 total charges.
The charges against Austin Hapner are related to abuse cases in Kent and Ottawa counties.
Ottawa officials filed 23 charges against Hapner, including: four counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, four counts of aggravated possession of child sexually abusive material, 12 counts of capturing an unclothed person, and three counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
Kent County filed 39 charges. To date, no charges have been linked to Hapner’s coursework studying education at GRCC.
The charges from Kent County include: Nine counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, eight counts of second-degree CSC, one count of aggravated indecent exposure, one count of sexually delinquent person, nine counts of criminal sexually abusive activity, four counts of using a computer to commit a crime, one count of crime against nature of sodomy with a dog, three counts of aggravated child sexually abusive activity, and three counts of aggravated distributing or promoting child sexually abusive activity
Hapner was arraigned with on Sept. 3 with an initial 9 charges, 19 more charges on Sept. 15, and an additional 11 charges being attributed on Sept. 18 in Kent County.
On Sept. 25, Ottawa County Police announced 23 additional charges against Hapner.
Hapner is scheduled for arraignment on Oct. 13 in Ottawa County.
These arrangements are to be followed by a preliminary examination on Oct. 15 in Kent County.
Attempts were made to contact the Kent County head prosecutor, Christopher R. Becker, for more information, but there has been no response.
After Hapner’s arrest, The Collegiate filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records documenting Hapner’s possible access to children at GRCC, where education students enrolled in specific courses do lab work and observations at the GRCC’s Early Childhood Learning Laboratory (ECLL).
GRCC officials refused to tell The Collegiate whether Hapner ever worked in the ECLL, saying disclosing that information would violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. (FERPA).
GRCC did, however, provide a copy of the statement GRCC President Kathryn Rogalski shared on Sept. 4.
The statement was not properly sent to students’ email addresses when it was first sent.
Additionally, an email statement from the Director of ECLL, Katie Pappas, was sent to parents of children who are enrolled in the program the same day.
“We have been made aware that this investigation currently does not relate to any occurrences involving GRCC, and we have not been contacted by law enforcement,” Pappas email read. “Should law enforcement request our assistance, we will cooperate fully. As part of our commitment to transparency, we are sharing this information to make sure our community is kept informed.”
While school officials will not disclose whether or not Hapner ever worked with children at the ECLL, the lead detective for the case, Detective Trooper Specialist Mark Fisher with Michigan State Police, stated that there is currently no evidence that Hapner committed any crimes at GRCC during his enrollment.
“Austin Hapner’s history with GRCC was investigated, and at this time there is no evidence that there were any offenses committed on their campus,” Fisher stated in an email.
If you have any information to provide regarding this case, contact Detective Trooper Specialist Fisher at 616-866-4411 or at fisherm7@michigan.gov.
