Little Scouts' Families Were Not Told

We want to share a brief but important update.

After speaking with multiple Little Scouts parents, we can confirm that Little Scouts families were not specifically notified that the individual at the center of this matter was a 19-year-old District 115 student at West Campus, in close proximity to their children, who was later publicly reported to have been charged with two counts of reproduction of child sexual abuse material and seven counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Public reporting also stated that the alleged material included abuse involving very young children, including an infant, and that he was also under investigation for an alleged sexual assault of a minor from Lake Forest, though that separate matter had not resulted in charges as of publication.

In other words, Little Scouts families were not told the information they needed to speak with their children, ask important questions, and make sure there had been no contact, no inappropriate communication, and no victimization.

We have also been told by a district insider that the Little Scouts director was directed by Dr. Montgomery’s administration not to communicate with parents about this matter. If true, that is deeply disturbing. It would mean that this failure was not an oversight. It was a choice.

Because we believe parents should see plainly what district leadership should have sent from the start, we are including below a model email that should have gone to Little Scouts families.

We will be sending it to Dr. Montgomery and Melissa Oakley and urging them to do the right thing now.

It is still not too late for District 115 to level with parents.

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Model Email District 115 Should Send to Little Scouts Parents

Dear Little Scouts Families,

We are writing to inform you of a serious matter that we believe Little Scouts parents have a right to know.

The individual at the center of this matter was a 19-year-old participant in District 115’s Transition Center program at West Campus, in close proximity to the Little Scouts program. He has since been publicly reported to have been charged with two counts of reproduction of child sexual abuse material and seven counts of possession of child sexual abuse material. Public reporting has also stated that the alleged material involved very young children, including an infant, and that he was under investigation for an alleged sexual assault of a minor from Lake Forest, though that separate matter had not resulted in charges as of the report.

At this time, we are not aware of any information indicating that any Little Scouts child was involved. However, because of the seriousness of these reported allegations and the proximity of this individual to the West Campus setting, we believe parents deserve full transparency.

We are therefore encouraging Little Scouts families to speak with their children in age-appropriate ways if they believe it is warranted, and to report any concerning information to law enforcement.

We also want parents to know that we are reviewing our notification procedures and internal decision-making in this matter.

We recognize that this information is deeply upsetting. Parents deserve candor in matters involving child safety, and we regret not providing more direct communication sooner.

Sincerely,

District 115

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We hope District 115 will send a communication like this now. To help them do the right thing, we encourage Dr. Montgomery and Melissa Oakley to send a direct email to Little Scouts parents immediately. It is not too late to tell parents the truth.

More to come soon.