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Former Greene school aide arrested on sex charges
A former aide at Greene Intermediate Center is in jail after her arrest Tuesday on nine felony charges related to inappropriate sexual activities with special education students she supervised.
Schmeca White, 27, of the 800 block of Huey Street, was taken into custody at her home shortly before noon Tuesday.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ken Cotter said White is accused of performing various sexual acts or causing students to perform sex acts in a classroom during their lunch period.
The reported incidents occurred during November and December while the teacher with whom White worked was away from the classroom.
The charges filed Tuesday involve seven students between the ages of 11 and 15, Cotter said. School officials said they were special education students.
White is accused of doing such things as touching a 14-year-old girl’s private parts and holding down the same girl while another student touched her.
The former paraprofessional also is charged with giving a “lap dance” to a 15-year-old boy and making an 11-year-old boy commit a sexual act on her. She also is alleged to have stripped and touched her naked body provocatively in front of the class.
Students also claimed that White had choked a 13-year-old girl to the point that an ambulance was called. White reportedly claimed the girl had an asthma attack, court documents show.
The charges White faces include two counts of child molesting, two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, sexual battery, criminal deviate conduct and battery.
She also is charged with vicarious sexual gratification and performing sexual conduct in the presence of minors.
“I hope I never see another case like it,” Cotter said Tuesday.
“Sometimes, you really do wonder what’s going on in this world,” said Supt. Joan Raymond of the South Bend Community School Corp.
‘You trust your children are safe’
Kim Gerencser is the parent of a seventh-grader who attends Greene. She said she was shocked when she saw television news reports about the allegations.
“I didn’t know whether or not to run to school and grab my kid,” Gerencser said. “It’s scary to realize it can happen in our school. You trust that your children are safe when they go to school.”
Despite the incident, Gerencser said she still has plenty of confidence in the staff at Greene and believes they are just as shocked as she is.
The two-month investigation revealed White exerted control over the children with threats, according to Cotter.
White is reported to have threatened to harm the students or cause trouble at school if they disclosed what had occurred in the classroom, Cotter said.
The prosecutor said he believed the students took the threats to heart because they came from an authority figure.
Seven to 10 students were normally in the special education classroom during the lunch period, which is about a half-hour long, said Lt. Mark Reihl, an investigator with the Family Violence & Special Victims Unit.
This particular special education class was not integrated with the general student population, Raymond said Tuesday.
No red flags
White was fired in January for an unrelated theft incident, according to Raymond. Criminal charges have not been filed over that matter, details of which Raymond did not reveal.
Students spoke up after they realized White was not returning to the school, Cotter said.
A social worker at Greene contacted St. Joseph County police Feb. 18, which started the investigation.
According to Raymond, a criminal check on each prospective employee of the school corporation is run. Candidates also go through an interview process.
Raymond said a criminal check was run on White when she was hired in 2003 and showed no cause for alarm.
“The school did nothing wrong,” Raymond said. “We have one priority above all others, and that is the safety of the children in our care.
“Regrettably, individuals who have problems along these lines tend to go where children go,” Raymond said. “It’s very, very regrettable. Very, very sad.”
Cotter praised the prompt reporting of school personnel and the cooperation of the students, parents, Greene special education teachers Casey Ickes and Chris Lorenz and school social worker Jennifer Weinberg.
“They made the proper response,” Cotter said. “They’ve been very helpful.”
Reihl had to tell the parents what had happened to their children.
“They were upset and angry,” Reihl said of the students’ parents, who had no idea about the incidents until he told them.
Reihl, who has children, said he didn’t blame them. “I’d react the same way.”
White’s bond is set at $10,000. She is scheduled to make her initial court appearance Wednesday.
If convicted of all the charges, she could receive a maximum sentence of 112 years in prison.
Source: AP
Schmeca White, 27, of the 800 block of Huey Street, was taken into custody at her home shortly before noon Tuesday.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Ken Cotter said White is accused of performing various sexual acts or causing students to perform sex acts in a classroom during their lunch period.
The reported incidents occurred during November and December while the teacher with whom White worked was away from the classroom.
The charges filed Tuesday involve seven students between the ages of 11 and 15, Cotter said. School officials said they were special education students.
White is accused of doing such things as touching a 14-year-old girl’s private parts and holding down the same girl while another student touched her.
The former paraprofessional also is charged with giving a “lap dance” to a 15-year-old boy and making an 11-year-old boy commit a sexual act on her. She also is alleged to have stripped and touched her naked body provocatively in front of the class.
Students also claimed that White had choked a 13-year-old girl to the point that an ambulance was called. White reportedly claimed the girl had an asthma attack, court documents show.
The charges White faces include two counts of child molesting, two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor, sexual battery, criminal deviate conduct and battery.
She also is charged with vicarious sexual gratification and performing sexual conduct in the presence of minors.
“I hope I never see another case like it,” Cotter said Tuesday.
“Sometimes, you really do wonder what’s going on in this world,” said Supt. Joan Raymond of the South Bend Community School Corp.
‘You trust your children are safe’
Kim Gerencser is the parent of a seventh-grader who attends Greene. She said she was shocked when she saw television news reports about the allegations.
“I didn’t know whether or not to run to school and grab my kid,” Gerencser said. “It’s scary to realize it can happen in our school. You trust that your children are safe when they go to school.”
Despite the incident, Gerencser said she still has plenty of confidence in the staff at Greene and believes they are just as shocked as she is.
The two-month investigation revealed White exerted control over the children with threats, according to Cotter.
White is reported to have threatened to harm the students or cause trouble at school if they disclosed what had occurred in the classroom, Cotter said.
The prosecutor said he believed the students took the threats to heart because they came from an authority figure.
Seven to 10 students were normally in the special education classroom during the lunch period, which is about a half-hour long, said Lt. Mark Reihl, an investigator with the Family Violence & Special Victims Unit.
This particular special education class was not integrated with the general student population, Raymond said Tuesday.
No red flags
White was fired in January for an unrelated theft incident, according to Raymond. Criminal charges have not been filed over that matter, details of which Raymond did not reveal.
Students spoke up after they realized White was not returning to the school, Cotter said.
A social worker at Greene contacted St. Joseph County police Feb. 18, which started the investigation.
According to Raymond, a criminal check on each prospective employee of the school corporation is run. Candidates also go through an interview process.
Raymond said a criminal check was run on White when she was hired in 2003 and showed no cause for alarm.
“The school did nothing wrong,” Raymond said. “We have one priority above all others, and that is the safety of the children in our care.
“Regrettably, individuals who have problems along these lines tend to go where children go,” Raymond said. “It’s very, very regrettable. Very, very sad.”
Cotter praised the prompt reporting of school personnel and the cooperation of the students, parents, Greene special education teachers Casey Ickes and Chris Lorenz and school social worker Jennifer Weinberg.
“They made the proper response,” Cotter said. “They’ve been very helpful.”
Reihl had to tell the parents what had happened to their children.
“They were upset and angry,” Reihl said of the students’ parents, who had no idea about the incidents until he told them.
Reihl, who has children, said he didn’t blame them. “I’d react the same way.”
White’s bond is set at $10,000. She is scheduled to make her initial court appearance Wednesday.
If convicted of all the charges, she could receive a maximum sentence of 112 years in prison.
Source: AP
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