> Substitute teacher from Somalia charged with sexual misconduct
> By ROBERT A. CRONKLETON
> The Kansas City Star
> Dirshe
> A Leavenworth substitute teacher accused of unlawful sexual relationships
> with high school students is a Somalian refugee in the United States under
> political asylum, officials said Thursday.
>
> Mohamed A. Dirshe, 26, has been charged in Leavenworth County District Court
> with three counts of unlawful sexual relations and three counts of
> furnishing alcohol to a minor for illicit purposes, which are all felonies.
>
> Dirshe is accused of inviting two 16-year-old male students to his home and
> giving them alcohol. He then allegedly had sexual relations with them while
> they were under the influence, said Leavenworth's interim Police chief,
> Patrick Kitchens.
>
> The incidents, which allegedly occurred between Oct. 19 and Dec. 30,
> involved students from Immaculata High School and Leavenworth High School.
> Dirshe also had been a substitute teacher for one day at West Middle School
> and at New Beginnings, a special education facility, according to a school
> official.
>
> Word of the charges surprised people who knew Dirshe when he attended the
> University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth.
>
> Dirshe, who graduated last May with a bachelor's degree in information
> technology, also played on the men's basketball team. He attended the school
> on a scholarship, said Bob Uhlar, a public relations specialist for the
> university.
>
> Dirshe was well-liked by other students, though he was kind of quiet.
>
> Those who knew him said there was no indication that he was capable of this
> type of behavior, Uhlar said.
>
> Dirshe has a remarkable story, Uhlar said.
>
> At the age of 9, he witnessed the murder of his father, uncle and older
> brother outside his home in Somalia by militia men from a rival clan,
> according to an article in the winter 2005 edition of Aspire, the university's
> alumni magazine.
>
> In 1996, when he was 14, his mother forced him to flee to Kenya, according
> to the article.
>
> "I was getting older and the chance of me getting hurt or getting killed was
> high," he told a reporter for Aspire. "My mom didn't want that."
>
> Dirshe lived there as a refugee for a couple of years before his uncle made
> arrangements for him to flee to the United States.
>
> Police first became aware of the alleged incidents when officials from the
> Catholic school system alerted them. Dirshe was arrested March 17 and
> remained in Leavenworth County Jail on Thursday on a $100,000 bond.
>
> His next court appearance is today.
>
> Officials with the Leavenworth Regional Catholic Schools could not be
> reached for comment Thursday.
>
> Police are investigating whether there were more victims.
>
>