Elementary School Aid Arrested

nj.com:  Elementary School Aide Masturbated in Front of Children and Filmed It, Cops Say

http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2018/06/kenneth_palmer_maplewood_south_orange_morris_count.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured


Related: patch.com  An aide who worked with special-ed students at a New Jersey elementary school masturbated in a Shop-Rite, exposed himself to students in the school hallways and took up-skirt photos of a student, police said. He also reportedly filmed himself in front of students.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/maplewood/nj-elementary-aide-filmed-he-masturbated-front-students?utm_source=alert-breakingnews&utm_medium=email&utm_term=weather&utm_campaign=alert


I’m speechless. Bastard. 




You might want to edit the word 'Aid' to 'Aide' in the thread title.  (I thought this thread was going to be about state education funding.)  grin 


Ugh. He was arrested in September and we're just finding out about it now? Not that anything could have been done about it but it would have been appropriate to tell the Jefferson community. 


i'm pretty sure an email to the jefferson community did go out soon after his arrest.  


mrincredible said:
Ugh. He was arrested in September and we're just finding out about it now? Not that anything could have been done about it but it would have been appropriate to tell the Jefferson community. 

FWIW, from the nj.com article: 

Suzanne M. Turner, director of communications for the Maplewood-South Orange School District, said administrators were directed by law enforcement not to discuss the case at all before Palmer was charged in Essex County and could only provided limited information afterward.


Thanks DaveSchmidt. I've been searching my inbox thinking that I had missed something. Even if I hadn't seen an email I have to imagine there would have been some public outcry.

I'll be following this story. I'm interested to know if he posted any of the pictures and if that will be pursued. There's a sick audience for this kind of stuff. If he distributed the pictures from his phone then the kids are victimized even further. I'll want to know what kind of investigation is being made. 

And I wonder what the hell happened in his prior assignment. 



mrincredible said:
Thanks DaveSchmidt. I've been searching my inbox thinking that I had missed something. Even if I hadn't seen an email I have to imagine there would have been some public outcry.
I'll be following this story. I'm interested to know if he posted any of the pictures and if that will be pursued. There's a sick audience for this kind of stuff. If he distributed the pictures from his phone then the kids are victimized even further. I'll want to know what kind of investigation is being made. 
And I wonder what the hell happened in his prior assignment. 


 If you have a current student at Jefferson, you should have received an email in April 2018, right after Spring Break.


Thanks erins. I can't find it for the life of me. I'm going to email the school and ask if there's a list I should be on. Do you know who it should have come from?


mrincredible said:
Thanks erins. I can't find it for the life of me. I'm going to email the school and ask if there's a list I should be on. Do you know who it should have come from?

 Someone forwarded it to me...not sure whom it originally came from:

Date: April 16, 2018 

Dear Jefferson Families and Staff, On December 5, 2017, the district was informed that a paraprofessional who had worked at Jefferson School from February 2017 until September 2017 was arrested in another county, and was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. It should be noted that law enforcement explicitly directed us not to discuss this matter during the investigation.  Since criminal charges were filed against the paraprofessional in Essex County last week, we are now permitted to provide you with limited information.  However, we have been directed not to release any specific details or the names of specific individuals relevant to the case. Any parent, child or staff member whom law enforcement and related State Agencies felt they needed to speak to has already been contacted. It should also be noted that, as required by State Law, the paraprofessional was cleared to work by the NJ Department of Education Criminal History Review Unit prior to being assigned to work at Jefferson.  We understand that the confidentiality required by the legal process can be frustrating, and appreciate your patience and support. Dr. Thomas Ficarra Interim Superintendent



Recovering my power of speech- the accusations, which appear given the video evidence to be so much more than that, are ghastly. Nearly unbelievable. 


This is someone who is willing to take significant risks in pursuit of victims, and I would be surprised if his behavior, somewhere in his life if not at Jefferson, went beyond what he’s copped to.


I find the lack of details up to this point disturbing. They know what they know about what he did- and given what is described it’s a lot, but of course it can’t be everything.


Without understanding the gravity of the charges it’s difficult for parents to know what may or may not have happened to their kids. 

Given the apparent evidence I can’t imagine what law enforcement agency would have advised keeping things quiet or the reasons for doing so, but I imagine we will have answers to both those questions, such as they are, shortly, and I’ll be interested to hear them. 


Given the potential for kids to have been victimized I imagine the reasons are powerful, and an accounting of them is important.




Latest communication from the district:

Date: June 19, 2018 at 5:00:26 PM EDT  Subject: Update on Former Paraprofessional Reply-To: South Orange Maplewood School District <somsd@somsd.k12.nj.us>

Dear Jefferson Community,

The release of further details from a police report about allegations of criminal misconduct by a former paraprofessional at Jefferson has understandably prompted questions and concerns.  The nature of the charges is among the most difficult that schools, parents and children would ever have to discuss together. 

Some details which have been reported in the press were not provided to Administration by law enforcement, which conducted the investigations along with DCPP.  The videos were in possession of law enforcement and were never shared with District staff, so the District is in no position to comment on the content.  As Dr. Ficarra wrote in April, law enforcement and related State Agencies contacted directly any parent, child or staff member with whom they needed to speak about the allegations.

We would like to reiterate that District administrators have been specifically directed by the Prosecutor’s Office to not discuss the case until after the paraprofessional in question was charged, and then to only discuss limited information.  We understand that the confidentiality required by the legal process can be frustrating.

We have prepared some talking points for discussing this with your children, if you decide that this is appropriate for your family.

South Orange Maplewood School District


Looks like 13 total with a conviction for a separate incident.

Someone needs to figure out how to mentally treat this kind of person or there will be a 35 year old pedophile back on the streets in 2032. From what I've read you don't grow out of this mental disease. It's an area that a lot of mental health professionals don't want to delve into. And people who have the inclination often don't look for help because of the shame factor.

I'm glad this guy is going away for years. I hope he can find help for his problem while he's in there.



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