Parents Say School Hired Abuser

PEORIA (CN) - Parents of two elementary students say the McLean County School District hired a man who was required to register as a child abuser, and that after it fired him for watching pornography on a school computer, it rehired him and sent him to teach first grade, where he sexually abused the children.

The parents of the girls, who are identified as Jane Doe 20 and 21, sued the Board of Education of the Community Unit School District #5 McLean and Woodford Counties; Jon White, the alleged abuser, and several school administrators, in Federal Court.

"On August 13, 2002, White signed an acknowledgment of his awareness that he was a mandatory reporter under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act," the complaint states. "The McLean County School District hired White on August 29, 2002. ...

"On information and belief arising from information reported by parents of children at Colene Hoose [Elementary School], while employed at Brigham School but working for the Town of Normal in its parks and recreation department, White was reported to have used another teacher's computer to access Internet pornography during the 2002-2003 school year.

"On information and belief, in its investigation of the teacher whose school computer was the subject of the incident referenced in the immediately preceding paragraph, the McLean County School District learned that White did, in fact, access Internet pornography via another teacher's school computer during the 2002-2003 school year.

"The McLean County School District terminated and rehired White, effective August 20, 2003, then transferred him to a position as a first grade teacher at Colene Hoose Elementary School."

The 94-page complaint claims that White sexually groomed and abused students.

Plaintiffs are represented by T. Donald Henson of LaSalle, Ill.

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