Showing posts with label Park Tudor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Park Tudor. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Former Park Tudor Basketball Coach Released To Community Corrections Facility
Former Park Tudor boys basketball coach Kyle Cox won't get to stay at his parents' home while he awaits trial on charges of coercion and enticement of a 15-year old female student at the prestigious private school where he has been accused of exchanging explicit nude images and sexually-related messages. Instead, U.S. District Court Judge William Lawrence has ordered him on 24-hour lock-down at a community corrections facility near downtown Indianapolis. Federal prosecutors had sought to keep Cox detained at a federal detention facility in Kentucky.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
More Damning Information Regarding Park Tudor's Handling Of Kyle Cox's Sexual Abuse Of Student
Several Indianapolis Star reporters contributed to a new report this weekend on Park Tudor's mishandling of the sexual abuse of one of its students at the hands of its former boys basketball coach Kyle Cox. The accumulated evidence reflects very poorly on the school administrators and, in particular, the Ice Miller attorney they relied upon for counsel. Some people have thought the Department of Child Services must bare some responsibility for the mishandling of the case, but I'm not convinced the facts point in that direction.
DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura faults the school for waiting a full day before reporting the sexual abuse of one of their students to child welfare workers at her agency. It also seems clear the school withheld the most damning information from its notification to DCS--namely, that Cox had exchanged sexually explicit images with the student, including photos of his penis and nude images of the 15-year girl and another minor. What DCS knew was that Cox had exchanged inappropriate messages with the student, that he had been immediately fired when the school learned of the exchanges and that the school was taking measures to ensure the safety of the student.
The school's approach was to enter into a confidential termination agreement with Cox, allow him to take his laptop computer home to remove any personal items from it, presumably the explicit messages and images he had exchanged with the student and allow him to move on with his reputation intact and able to land a job at any number of other schools in Indiana, which would have gladly hired him based upon his successful record coaching boys basketball at the school.
DCS makes clear that it did not learn until December 22 after the school had closed for the holidays that sexually explicit images had been exchanged between Cox and the student. The child welfare agency learned that information from an outside counselor who was counseling the victim. DCS claims it began its investigation that day and included Sgt. Larry Cahill of the sex crimes unit of IMPD in its investigation.
According to The Star report, word of the extent of the sexual abuse allegations had spread quickly among students and parents within the Park Tudor Community. A group of parents became so concerned that they penned a letter to Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry demanding action. Curry received that letter on December 30. "Rather than investigate the matter fully and share it with law enforcement, the school allowed Mr. Cox to resign and then buried the issue," the letter said. "Mr. Cox should not be allowed to be around young people in any official role. In the eyes of many parents at Park Tudor, he is a sex offender and should be registered and followed as one. Criminal action has taken place, and we urge you to fully investigate this matter. "Your actions can prevent another young person from being harmed," the letter said.
Apparently Curry responds more quickly to allegations made about child sexual abuse by adults in the community when it's parents of Park Tudor than he does other persons who contact his office. He contacted IMPD that very day, which also coincided with a third report about the incident being made to DCS. The Star says that was also the day IMPD opened a criminal investigation. It's unclear what Sgt. Cahill had been doing since he knew about the criminal allegations on December 22 according to DCS. Now where DCS looks bad is the fact that it did not speak to the victim's father, who first reported the sexual abuse to the school on December 14, until January 4 of this year. An IMPD officer didn't visit the school to speak to officials until January 5. The person who made the report to DCS on behalf of Park Tudor told IMPD she had gotten the information from the school's attorney, Mike Blickman. When IMPD and DCS attempted to talk to Blickman, he hid behind the attorney-client privilege, even though he knew about them and had taken personal possession of the sexually explicit messages and images between Cox and the student by transferring the information to a computer at his office.
While all this foot-dragging was occurring, Cox had continued communicating with at least one male student, whom he encouraged to "mess up" the victim for spreading what he considered defamatory information about him. That student physically assaulted the victim at the school after students returned from their holiday break before law enforcement would finally execute a search warrant on school officials and Cox on January 7. It was only when police executed those search warrants that Blickman finally agreed to turn over evidence of the crime he by that point had held in his possession for at least three weeks.
There's more damning information about Blickman's conduct. Police didn't question the school's head master until January 21, a full 37 days after the initial report and nearly a month after DCS says it included IMPD Sgt. Cahill in its investigation. Dr. Matthew Miller took his own life two days later, although school officials would claim afterwards it had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation. Park Tudor parents complained to The Star that Blickman and other school officials lied to them during a meeting with them on January 28. According to the parents in attendance at the meeting, Blickman denied that Cox had been allowed to take his computer home with him to remove personal items from it before returning it the following day. Parents told The Star other details shared with them by Blickman and school officials at that meeting were contradicted by the federal complaint filed against Cox at the time of his arrest earlier this month.
Blickman's firm is standing behind his actions, and he has lawyered up with high-profile criminal defense attorney, Jackie Bennett. I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of attorneys about Blickman's action. To a tee, they agree he should be prosecuted for obstructing justice. In the course of his representation of Park Tudor, he learned of a crime committed by Kyle Cox against one of his client's students. The school, not Cox, was Blickman's client. He had no reason to withhold and not disclose evidence of a crime committed by one of the school's employees to the appropriate authorities. By not having the school fully and immediately report what it knew had transpired between Cox and the student, he was advising them not to follow the state law regarding the school's reporting responsibilities. He made the school and himself an accessory after the fact because of his actions in my opinion. All of those same attorneys, by the way, who believe Blickman should be prosecuted also agree that he won't be prosecuted because he's an Ice Miller attorney. That should tell you how much faith rank-and-file attorneys have in the fairness of our criminal justice system.
DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura faults the school for waiting a full day before reporting the sexual abuse of one of their students to child welfare workers at her agency. It also seems clear the school withheld the most damning information from its notification to DCS--namely, that Cox had exchanged sexually explicit images with the student, including photos of his penis and nude images of the 15-year girl and another minor. What DCS knew was that Cox had exchanged inappropriate messages with the student, that he had been immediately fired when the school learned of the exchanges and that the school was taking measures to ensure the safety of the student.
The school's approach was to enter into a confidential termination agreement with Cox, allow him to take his laptop computer home to remove any personal items from it, presumably the explicit messages and images he had exchanged with the student and allow him to move on with his reputation intact and able to land a job at any number of other schools in Indiana, which would have gladly hired him based upon his successful record coaching boys basketball at the school.
DCS makes clear that it did not learn until December 22 after the school had closed for the holidays that sexually explicit images had been exchanged between Cox and the student. The child welfare agency learned that information from an outside counselor who was counseling the victim. DCS claims it began its investigation that day and included Sgt. Larry Cahill of the sex crimes unit of IMPD in its investigation.
According to The Star report, word of the extent of the sexual abuse allegations had spread quickly among students and parents within the Park Tudor Community. A group of parents became so concerned that they penned a letter to Marion Co. Prosecutor Terry Curry demanding action. Curry received that letter on December 30. "Rather than investigate the matter fully and share it with law enforcement, the school allowed Mr. Cox to resign and then buried the issue," the letter said. "Mr. Cox should not be allowed to be around young people in any official role. In the eyes of many parents at Park Tudor, he is a sex offender and should be registered and followed as one. Criminal action has taken place, and we urge you to fully investigate this matter. "Your actions can prevent another young person from being harmed," the letter said.
Apparently Curry responds more quickly to allegations made about child sexual abuse by adults in the community when it's parents of Park Tudor than he does other persons who contact his office. He contacted IMPD that very day, which also coincided with a third report about the incident being made to DCS. The Star says that was also the day IMPD opened a criminal investigation. It's unclear what Sgt. Cahill had been doing since he knew about the criminal allegations on December 22 according to DCS. Now where DCS looks bad is the fact that it did not speak to the victim's father, who first reported the sexual abuse to the school on December 14, until January 4 of this year. An IMPD officer didn't visit the school to speak to officials until January 5. The person who made the report to DCS on behalf of Park Tudor told IMPD she had gotten the information from the school's attorney, Mike Blickman. When IMPD and DCS attempted to talk to Blickman, he hid behind the attorney-client privilege, even though he knew about them and had taken personal possession of the sexually explicit messages and images between Cox and the student by transferring the information to a computer at his office.
While all this foot-dragging was occurring, Cox had continued communicating with at least one male student, whom he encouraged to "mess up" the victim for spreading what he considered defamatory information about him. That student physically assaulted the victim at the school after students returned from their holiday break before law enforcement would finally execute a search warrant on school officials and Cox on January 7. It was only when police executed those search warrants that Blickman finally agreed to turn over evidence of the crime he by that point had held in his possession for at least three weeks.
There's more damning information about Blickman's conduct. Police didn't question the school's head master until January 21, a full 37 days after the initial report and nearly a month after DCS says it included IMPD Sgt. Cahill in its investigation. Dr. Matthew Miller took his own life two days later, although school officials would claim afterwards it had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation. Park Tudor parents complained to The Star that Blickman and other school officials lied to them during a meeting with them on January 28. According to the parents in attendance at the meeting, Blickman denied that Cox had been allowed to take his computer home with him to remove personal items from it before returning it the following day. Parents told The Star other details shared with them by Blickman and school officials at that meeting were contradicted by the federal complaint filed against Cox at the time of his arrest earlier this month.
Blickman's firm is standing behind his actions, and he has lawyered up with high-profile criminal defense attorney, Jackie Bennett. I've had the opportunity to speak to a number of attorneys about Blickman's action. To a tee, they agree he should be prosecuted for obstructing justice. In the course of his representation of Park Tudor, he learned of a crime committed by Kyle Cox against one of his client's students. The school, not Cox, was Blickman's client. He had no reason to withhold and not disclose evidence of a crime committed by one of the school's employees to the appropriate authorities. By not having the school fully and immediately report what it knew had transpired between Cox and the student, he was advising them not to follow the state law regarding the school's reporting responsibilities. He made the school and himself an accessory after the fact because of his actions in my opinion. All of those same attorneys, by the way, who believe Blickman should be prosecuted also agree that he won't be prosecuted because he's an Ice Miller attorney. That should tell you how much faith rank-and-file attorneys have in the fairness of our criminal justice system.
Monday, February 08, 2016
Proseuctors Say Disgraced Former Park Tudor Basketball Coach Incited Student To Attack Victim
If you thought the story of the former Park Tudor boys basketball coach's sexual victimization of a 15-year old student of the prestigious private school couldn't get any worse, it just did. Federal prosecutors told a federal magistrate today during Kyle Cox's initial appearance that his encouragement to a former male student at the school to mess up the victim actually incited him to physically assault her at the school. As Fox 59 News reported:
Federal prosecutors allege Cox kept in touch with students despite a confidentiality agreement he signed with the school after his termination in December. Prosecutors said in one instance, a male student Cox was in contact with threw the alleged victim and another witness to the ground in a physical altercation at Park Tudor.
The student told Cox about the altercation through text message.
“It would’ve been epic if you would’ve caused a concussion,” a text from Cox read.
Magistrate Judge Debra McVicker Lynch called Cox’s comments “troubling” and cited his “gross immaturity.”Cox is being held at a federal detention facility in Kentucky. Judge McVicker ruled over the prosecution's objections that Cox could be allowed out on bail and permitted to stay with his parents in Henry County while awaiting trial, but federal prosecutors are appealing that decision. In the meantime, Judge McVicker has stayed her decision, requiring Cox to remain in federal custody for the time being.
Friday, February 05, 2016
Star Report: Ice Miller Attorney Could Face Criminal Charges Over Handling Of Park Tudor Child Abuse Case
The Indianapolis Star to my surprise took direct aim at the venerable Ice Miller law firm and its high-profile labor and employment law partner for possibly breaking state law by not immediately reporting a crime he knew had happened the day he met with the father of the 15-year old victim of the school's fired boys basketball coach with the headmaster of the elite Park Tudor private school and received evidence the former basketball coach and student had exchanged sexually explicit images of themselves.
In a federal complaint filed in the U.S. district court in the Southern District of Indiana, law enforcement investigating the case were clearly perturbed to learn that Michael Blickman, the school's attorney from Ice Miller, and the headmaster, the late Dr. Matthew Miller, had known about the sexually explicit images for three weeks prior to their execution of a search warrant on the north side school's campus but had failed to report the definitive evidence they took into their possession from the victim's father on December 14, 2015. Blickman even took the victim's computer back to his office and downloaded images from it to the firm's computer system. Compounding the problem, school officials gave Cox permission to take his laptop computer home with him after he was fired and given 24 hours to remove anything "personal" from it before returning it to the school.
When initially asked by investigators looking into the report made by the school to the Department of Child Services, Blickman had claimed any evidence he had obtained or discussed with the fired former basketball coach was privileged information protected by the attorney-client privilege. It wasn't until after a team of federal, state and local law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on January 4, 2016 that Blickman came to the school, told police about the images he had copied to a computer at his law firm and then turned over that evidence to police, nearly three weeks after first receiving the evidence from the victim's father.
The Star draws attention to a recent Indiana Supreme Court decision where a Muncie school official was found to be criminally liable for failure to report suspected child abuse--in that case a rape--for a period of four hours after the school's principal first knew the crime had occurred. A criminal lawyer, Jack Crawford, explained the legal liability Blickman could face:
It would surprise me if Blickman actually faced any legal consequences as a result of his actions. The most immediate consequence to Ice Miller and Blickman has been the loss of a client. According to The Star, the school is now being represented by Barnes & Thornburg and Frost Brown Todd. There is also the tragedy of Dr. Matthew Miller taking his life two weeks ago. School officials claimed at the time his suicide had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation. This week's events cast serious doubt on that conclusion. The sad thing is that Dr. Miller trusted the advice he was given by his attorney, which in this case, created a major problem for the school that could have been easily nipped in the bud had the right thing been done on December 14 when school officials first learned what their misbehaving basketball coach had done to one of their students.
Here's a copy of the Complaint against Cox filed in federal district court for the Southern District of Indiana.
In a federal complaint filed in the U.S. district court in the Southern District of Indiana, law enforcement investigating the case were clearly perturbed to learn that Michael Blickman, the school's attorney from Ice Miller, and the headmaster, the late Dr. Matthew Miller, had known about the sexually explicit images for three weeks prior to their execution of a search warrant on the north side school's campus but had failed to report the definitive evidence they took into their possession from the victim's father on December 14, 2015. Blickman even took the victim's computer back to his office and downloaded images from it to the firm's computer system. Compounding the problem, school officials gave Cox permission to take his laptop computer home with him after he was fired and given 24 hours to remove anything "personal" from it before returning it to the school.
When initially asked by investigators looking into the report made by the school to the Department of Child Services, Blickman had claimed any evidence he had obtained or discussed with the fired former basketball coach was privileged information protected by the attorney-client privilege. It wasn't until after a team of federal, state and local law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on January 4, 2016 that Blickman came to the school, told police about the images he had copied to a computer at his law firm and then turned over that evidence to police, nearly three weeks after first receiving the evidence from the victim's father.
The Star draws attention to a recent Indiana Supreme Court decision where a Muncie school official was found to be criminally liable for failure to report suspected child abuse--in that case a rape--for a period of four hours after the school's principal first knew the crime had occurred. A criminal lawyer, Jack Crawford, explained the legal liability Blickman could face:
One legal expert said Blickman could be at risk of facing criminal charges. Federal court records indicate Blickman made copies of the explicit messages and images, including at least one explicit photo of the girl, and kept them at his office.
“This gets really dicey,” Indianapolis attorney Jack Crawford said. “That’s child pornography. You cannot possess it even if it’s for a legal purpose.”
Crawford told IndyStar that he cannot get copies of photos when he is representing a client in a child pornography case. He said he has to go to the U.S. attorney's office to look at them.
Tim Horty, spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, said the Park Tudor case remains under investigation. He said more people could be charged if detectives find enough evidence . . .
Court records show Park Tudor officials also allowed Cox to take a school computer home on Dec. 15 to remove "personal" content.
When police started to investigate the allegations against Cox, Blickman told them he would not offer any information because his conversations with school officials were “privileged communications,” court documents state. Blickman said he believed Park Tudor officials had done everything that they needed to do.The Star says there is also an issue of how DCS responded to the original report given to them by the school on December 15. According to their sources, DCS did not immediately initiate an investigation upon receiving the report from Park Tudor. The initial report made by the school, however, downplayed what had transpired. It indicated Cox had sent messages to a 15-year old student that was "suggestive and not appropriate for an adult teacher to send to a student." The school omitted the fact it knew Cox had sent pictures of his penis to the girl and she had shared nude sexual images of herself with him. It wasn't until after an outside counselor for the school sent a report to the state on December 22 that DCS initiated its investigation.
It would surprise me if Blickman actually faced any legal consequences as a result of his actions. The most immediate consequence to Ice Miller and Blickman has been the loss of a client. According to The Star, the school is now being represented by Barnes & Thornburg and Frost Brown Todd. There is also the tragedy of Dr. Matthew Miller taking his life two weeks ago. School officials claimed at the time his suicide had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation. This week's events cast serious doubt on that conclusion. The sad thing is that Dr. Miller trusted the advice he was given by his attorney, which in this case, created a major problem for the school that could have been easily nipped in the bud had the right thing been done on December 14 when school officials first learned what their misbehaving basketball coach had done to one of their students.
Here's a copy of the Complaint against Cox filed in federal district court for the Southern District of Indiana.
Thursday, February 04, 2016
Former Park Tudor Basketball Coach Arrested
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| Former Park Tudor basketball coach Kyle Cox (Star Photo) |
UPDATED: The Indianapolis Star is reporting that the Indianapolis FBI office has confirmed the arrest of former Park Tudor high school boys basketball coach Kyle Cox, who abruptly resigned during the middle of the season on December 15, 2015. A task force investigating crimes against children executed search warrants on Cox's home in Fishers and the Park Tudor campus on Indianapolis' north side on January 7 as part of an investigation of child pornography and child exploitation. The school's headmaster, Dr. Matthew Miller took his life late last month, although school sources insisted his death had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation.
Cox is being charged with coercion and enticement, as well as obstruction of justice. Advance Indiana has just had an opportunity to review the probable cause affidavit filed in the case. It is quite damning of Cox's conduct towards a 15-year female student at Park Tudor with whom he initiated a highly inappropriate online relationship that started in September 2015. Cox initially asked inappropriate questions of the female student before encouraging her to share nude images of herself with him. Cox is accused of sending nude images of his penis to the girl, whom he gave a role working with the boys basketball team and spent a great deal of time in his office at the school.
The relationship with the student escalated to a point where Cox was planning to engage in sex with the girl at his home in December before the student's father discovered the sexual messages and images on her cell phone and learned the person with whom she was communicating was Cox. The affidavit raises serious questions about the manner in which the school handled the investigation of Cox after the father reported the relationship to them. Although Cox was immediately fired and law enforcement notified, the school did not turn over electronic records it had in its possession, which would have triggered a much more active investigation of the allegations sooner than occurred.
Cox was actually permitted to leave the campus with a computer after his firing, which he did not return until 24 hours later after attempting to remove relevant evidence from his computer. The victim's father turned cell phone images and texts, as well as his daughter's computer to the school to examine, but it appears school officials had removed information from it after the computer was returned to him according to the probable cause affidavit, and the school did not turn over that information it received from the victim's father to law enforcement at the time. Additionally, an attorney for the school removed a computer from the school and saved information from it on a flash drive but also was initially uncooperative in turning over evidence to law enforcement until police executed a warrant on the school in early January. The attorney at first claimed attorney-client privilege in declining to discuss or immediately share with law enforcement the information he had obtained from the computer. Advance Indiana has learned the school's attorney is Michael Blickman, a labor and employment partner at Ice Miller.
The victim's father first learned that Cox was the person his daughter was exchanging inappropriate messages and images on December 12, 2015. Cox had mentioned in a thread titled "Edward" about his grandfather in New Castle dying. The father looked up obituaries in New Castle online and discovered an obituary for Cox's grandfather, Edward Cox. He also discovered at that time that Cox's middle name was "Edward." That's when he learned Cox was planning to have sex with his daughter at his home on December 19. The victim's father took screen shots of the text messages and images. The girl's father took her computer and hard copies of some of the text messages and turned them over to Park Tudor's head master, Dr. Miller, and the school's attorney. The father told both everything he knew about what had taken place between his daughter and Cox. When the victim's father got his daughter's computer back from the school, he discovered that the USB drive had been improperly removed. The father told police he believed the school would handle all of the evidence appropriately once he turned it over to them. An IMPD detective went to the school's attorney's law office on January 7 to recover the evidence he had in his possession. Here's how the complaint describes how the school and their attorney handled the evidence it obtained from the victim's father of obvious criminal wrongdoing:
During the search of Park Tudor on January 7, 2016, the school attorney came to the scene. The attorney eventually disclosed that he received a laptop and documents which father had provided to Park Tudor, approximately 3 weeks earlier, on December 14, 2015. The laptop and documents contained a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The attorney took the laptop and documents from father and transported them to his law firm office. The contents of the laptop and documents were duplicated and placed on a thumb drive. No information about these steps or the related text messages or documents was timely provided to any law enforcement agency or the Department of Child Services ("DCS"). These agencies, law enforcement and DCS, did not know before the search the school that the attorney retained copies of the visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and the related communications provided by father.According to the probable cause affidavit detailing obstruction of justice charges against him, Cox communicated with a male student at the school following his firing in violation of his confidential separation agreement with the school. Cox blamed his downfall on the 15-year old student and seemed to encourage the male student to do harm to her. Cox boasted that he would have no problem getting a job anywhere else in the state of Indiana based on his reputation. "I've positioned myself to be marketable," Cox told the male student. "I would turn my head if you messed her up," Cox quipped to the male student in one exchange. "Just keep your nose clean," Cox added. Cox told the male student to ask the 15-year old girl to "ask her if it's making her feel better to slander me." "I'm sure you will find the right chance to say something to her," Cox concluded.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Park Tudor Officials Say Head Master's Suicide Unrelated To Child Porn Investigation
The Indianapolis Star's Vic Ryckaert says officials at Park Tudor released a statement saying the unfortunate suicide death of the school's headmaster, Dr. Matthew Miller, this past weekend was unrelated to an ongoing investigation of its former basketball coach for child pornography and child exploitation. The timing of his death two days after being questioned by members of the task force investigating the allegations is apparently coincidental.
"We have been repeatedly assured by law enforcement that neither the school nor any of its employees, including Dr. (Matthew D.) Miller, were targets of their investigation," interim Head of School Peter Kraft said in a message to parents emailed shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday . . .
"We are continuing to work with law enforcement," Kraft said, "and Dr. Miller's interview was one of the standard witness interviews being conducted by the Cox investigators."
Police, Kraft said, are "not aware of any threats to the safety of our students."
The private school will host two meetings for parents on Thursday, which Kraft said will "provide parents with additional information regarding the recent events and our plans going forward."
"Be assured, we are committed first and foremost to the safety of our children and the entire Park Tudor community," Kraft said . . .It took a few days, but this story finally earned top billing at the Daily Mail.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Classes Cancelled At Park Tudor Following Head Master's Suicide
School officials at the prestigious Park Tudor private school have cancelled classes and extracurricular activities today following this weekend's news that the school's headmaster, Dr. Matthew Miller, had taken his own life. Dr. Miller's death came just days after he was reportedly interviewed by a law enforcement task force investigating allegations of child pornography and child exploitation involving a former school official. One source says law enforcement seized a laptop computer used by Dr. Miller during its interview with him on Thursday.
The story began last December when the school's highly-successful basketball coach, Kyle Cox, resigned abruptly after two back-to-back state title championships for an undisclosed reason. It would not be until weeks later that the special task force responsible for investigating crimes against children would descend on the campus to execute search warrants. Unconfirmed rumors surfaced that someone associated with the school may have attempted to scrub material from the school's computer hard drives.
The Park Tudor scandal comes on the heels of the investigation that snared former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle and the former executive director of his nonprofit foundation, Russell Taylor. Fogle was sentenced to 15.6 years in prison for possession of child pornography and having sex with at least two female minors as part of a plea agreement in the federal court for the Southern District of Indiana. In December, Taylor was sentenced to 27 years in prison as part of his plea agreement for a dozen counts of producing and distributing child pornography. He sentence could have been more severe but for his cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
There now seems to be some belief that the investigation at Park Tudor didn't happen by chance; rather, it was an outgrowth of the investigation that began with Russell Taylor. Interestingly, Taylor has more recently been tied to an international spice drug trafficking ring based in Indianapolis that involved several area residents, including two former Hendricks County deputy sheriffs, Jason and Teresa Woods, and a fundamentalist minister, Robert Jaynes. Another local businessman, Doug Sloan, who once ran for the state senate seat now held by Sen. Jim Merritt as a Libertarian, has been indicted for his role in the drug ring as well. Taylor, formerly of Mooresville, was reportedly friends with both Jaynes and the Woods.
An interesting aspect of the Taylor-Fogle relationship were reports the two and a group of other men who reportedly hung out together in Broad Ripple frequently took sex tours to Thailand where a little money is all it takes for pedophiles to find available children with whom to have sex. Whether any officials of Park Tudor might be tied to Taylor or Fogle remains to be seen, but it's a thought that has crossed many people's minds over the past few days. Some are even beginning to worry whether Indianapolis has a scandal as big as the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky pedophile ring.
UPDATE: The Marion Co. Coroner's Office officially ruled the cause of Dr. Miller's death as a suicide by hanging.
The story began last December when the school's highly-successful basketball coach, Kyle Cox, resigned abruptly after two back-to-back state title championships for an undisclosed reason. It would not be until weeks later that the special task force responsible for investigating crimes against children would descend on the campus to execute search warrants. Unconfirmed rumors surfaced that someone associated with the school may have attempted to scrub material from the school's computer hard drives.
The Park Tudor scandal comes on the heels of the investigation that snared former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle and the former executive director of his nonprofit foundation, Russell Taylor. Fogle was sentenced to 15.6 years in prison for possession of child pornography and having sex with at least two female minors as part of a plea agreement in the federal court for the Southern District of Indiana. In December, Taylor was sentenced to 27 years in prison as part of his plea agreement for a dozen counts of producing and distributing child pornography. He sentence could have been more severe but for his cooperation in the ongoing investigation.
There now seems to be some belief that the investigation at Park Tudor didn't happen by chance; rather, it was an outgrowth of the investigation that began with Russell Taylor. Interestingly, Taylor has more recently been tied to an international spice drug trafficking ring based in Indianapolis that involved several area residents, including two former Hendricks County deputy sheriffs, Jason and Teresa Woods, and a fundamentalist minister, Robert Jaynes. Another local businessman, Doug Sloan, who once ran for the state senate seat now held by Sen. Jim Merritt as a Libertarian, has been indicted for his role in the drug ring as well. Taylor, formerly of Mooresville, was reportedly friends with both Jaynes and the Woods.
An interesting aspect of the Taylor-Fogle relationship were reports the two and a group of other men who reportedly hung out together in Broad Ripple frequently took sex tours to Thailand where a little money is all it takes for pedophiles to find available children with whom to have sex. Whether any officials of Park Tudor might be tied to Taylor or Fogle remains to be seen, but it's a thought that has crossed many people's minds over the past few days. Some are even beginning to worry whether Indianapolis has a scandal as big as the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky pedophile ring.
UPDATE: The Marion Co. Coroner's Office officially ruled the cause of Dr. Miller's death as a suicide by hanging.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Park Tudor's Head Master Dies Unexpectedly
Just weeks after law enforcement served warrants on Park Tudor Academy in connection with a child pornography investigation, the headmaster of the prestigious private school has unexpectedly died. A source tells Advance Indiana that the school sent out an e-mail earlier this evening announcing the death of Dr. Matthew Miller, 46, who had served as the school's headmaster since 2011. The statement read:
“The entire Park Tudor community is deeply saddened by this sudden loss,” the statement read. “We ask that you keep Dr. Miller’s family, our students and our community in your thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.”The cause of Dr. Miller's death was not disclosed in the e-mail. Advance Indiana has been able to determine that a 911 call was made at 11:55 a.m. for a report of an attempted suicide at a residence located at 444 Pennridge Drive in Meridian Hills. Tax records show that residential estate is owned by the Park Tudor Foundation. The residence is located adjacent to the school's grounds.
Attempt Suicide
Jan 23, 2016 11:55:00 AM
Number: 160231002
Call Received: 12:03:32.00
Call Received: 12:03:32.00
Location: 444 Pennridge Dr Meridian Hills, IN
Description: Attempt Suicide
Status: Active
Agency: Indy, IN
Description: Attempt Suicide
Status: Active
Agency: Indy, IN
Jennifer Wagner, a Park Tudor alumnus and owner of Mass Ave PR, posted a condolence message to Dr. Miller's family on Twitter.
UPDATE: Fox 59 News is now confirming that Dr. Miller died as a result of a suicide. According to their report, Dr. Miller had been interviewed by law enforcement on Thursday in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation of child pornography and child exploitation. One source tells Advance Indiana that investigators seized Dr. Miller's laptop when they interviewed him on Thursday.Thoughts and prayers are with the family of @MatthewMillerPT tonight. A loss for the @parktudor community.— Jennifer Wagner (@JenniferAWagner) January 24, 2016
We are very sad to report that our Head of School, Dr. Matthew D. Miller, passed away today. https://t.co/VCcxBIGjR8 pic.twitter.com/hwv4rbQQgF— Park Tudor (@parktudor) January 24, 2016
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