Lake County Attorney General's Office Looking Into Inappropriate Touching And Porno Photos At Lyons Magnet Elementary School

Fiestas Patrias President Carrasco files a complaint with the Waukegan Police Department alleging multiple school officials at the Lyon Magnet Elementary School failed to notify authorities of child sexual abuse and porno photos.

By H. Nelson Goodson

Hispanic News Network U.S.A.

January 16, 2018
(Updated)

Waukegan, Illinois - On Monday, Margaret Carrasco, the President of the Fiestas Patrias confirmed that she filed a criminal complaint with the Waukegan Police Department (WPD) alleging that school officials from the Lyon Magnet Elementary School, 800 S. Elmwood Ave. failed to report to authorities allegations of inappropriate touching of children and porno photos as required by state law. According to Carrasco's complaint, the Waukegan Public School Superintendent Theresa Plascencia; Amanda Pryce, the Lyon's School Principal and three other officials including an attorney failed to report "inappropriate sexual "incidents" and 115 porno photos" to authorities on the first week of December 2017. Carrasco sent the complaint to the WPD on January 10, 2018 after no action by school officials had taken place. Several families had complained to the Lyon's school officials, but nothing was done, according to Carrasco.

Carrasco also confirmed that the WPD acted quickly when they received the complaint and notified the Lake County Attorney General's Office who launched an investigation as well.

Carrasco wrote in the complaint that at least five students might be victims of "sexual abuse/porno" and that the school officials didn't take any action as "a cover-up".

Videos: Parents of a student at Lyon Magnet Elementary School told the Waukegan Public School Board that their son and other students were exposed to pornographic images. The father had requested a list (history) of what was logged in and still hasn't received any list or information for 30 days, counting the day he spoke in front of the Waukegan Public School Board.

 (1) http://bit.ly/2BiiW3z
In this video, a mother told the school board members that pornographic images were exposed to her son and other students.

 (2) http://bit.ly/2n03sNw
In this video, the mother says, a male student on second grade in 2016 had inappropriately (sexually) touched multiple female students. Nothing was done by school officials or if parents were notified of the incident that could possibly involved their daughters. This year they moved him to a different class, which my daughter attends, according to the student mother.

 (3) http://bit.ly/2Dq0oQJ
Father says, he requested information about an investigation, but no response by the school officials, so he filed complaints with various agencies and departments.

 (4) http://bit.ly/2Dz8v0H
Father confirmed he will file a complaint against teachers and so far, a list or history of the computer log in to websites hasn't been released by the school Board.

Update: Nicolas Alatzakis, the Chief Public Information Officer for the Waukegan Public School District released the following letter sent to parents regarding the article published by Hispanic News Network U.S.A. about the Lyon Magnet Elementary School.

"I am writing to you today because of concerns that have been brought to my attention by several Lyon parents regarding false information that has been posted on the Internet and is circulating in the community.

"A thorough investigation was conducted concerning the intentional misuse of technology by a few Lyon students in early December of 2017.  The District and its contractors use multiple, overlapping and currently available “state of the art” technology filters to block staff and student access to inappropriate websites via District computers and technology; however, no system is capable of preventing all access to publicly posted images of partially nude figures.  Although many people would find such pictures (as are commonly found in media publications, such as newspapers, common magazines, and publicity photos) to be offensive, others do not and banning the publication of such photos is not legally possible.  Thus, the community or artistic standards that are applied by screening or blocking technologies are open to debate and some exploitation. In this case, when the students’ off-task misconduct was detected, the teacher took appropriate steps to stop the students’ misbehavior, limit future computer access and to impose consequences.  There is no evidence of misconduct or neglect by Lyon staff, inappropriate touching of or by staff or students, or a failure to comply with State law pertaining to mandatory reporting obligations.
"Modern technology is a two edged sword.  It opens up opportunity for appropriate learning, and it affords curious youth the opportunity to exploit technology to explore subjects we would prefer they avoid.  The claim by critics that there were inappropriate sexual incidents involving the  touching of children is false, misleading and disturbing, because the facts are so different from the charges.
"We share this message with you today in the spirit of transparency, to dispel persistent rumors and to allay any fears and alarm you may have felt.  I appreciate everyone's understanding in this situation, and thank you for your continued support of Lyon Magnet.  Please accept my assurance that our vigilance is continuous and our concern for the safety and well-being of your children in all regards remains one of our highest priorities."

So far, the Waukegan Police Department nor the Lake County Attorney General's Office have not released any information regarding the allegations made by Margaret Carrasco concerning the Lyon Magnet Elementary School. Carrasco says that she recorded a video where family members publicly complained to the Waukegan District School Board during a meeting concerning the allegations made involving their kids.