Madison Substitute Teacher/Sports Coach Resigned During Grooming Investigation
MANSFIELD, Ohio — A Madison Local School District substitute teacher who also worked as a sports coach resigned during an investigation into a grooming allegation involving a 15-year-old high school student,
The Richland County Sheriff’s Office identified David James Gilbert, 26, of Mansfield, as the suspect. Peterson said the district immediately placed Gilbert on administrative leave and reported the allegations to law enforcement and the Office of Professional Conduct. Superintendent Rob Peterson said in an email response to ACP News.
Gilbert resigned while the investigation was underway.
“We have high expectations and standards for the professional conduct of all of our employees, especially when the conduct involves one of our students,” Peterson wrote.
“When we receive allegations of misconduct, we take those allegations seriously, investigate them thoroughly, and when warranted, report them to law enforcement and the Office of Professional Conduct as we did in this instance.”
What the deputy’s report says,
Deputy Caleb Ivy wrote that Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Hershey contacted him Sept. 2 after Gilbert discussed his communications with the student following an attempted polygraph examination. According to the trooper’s account, Gilbert said they had talked about waiting until she turned 18 to have sex. Gilbert denied any physical sexual contact and said they had never exchanged nude images.
Ivy notified school officials Sept. 3. He and Detective Garrett Nedrow then interviewed the student, who said she met Gilbert at baseball fields where she was working in April and that they began texting afterward. She said their conversations turned sexual in July. Gilbert put the start of those discussions around June, according to the trooper.
The student said she sent Gilbert clothed selfies, including some while she was at school. She told deputies he sometimes reacted with a heart or told her she looked nice. She said they discussed sex a few times and that each had brought up the subject. According to Ivy’s report, she said Gilbert sometimes laughed or replied, “If the stars align.” She also said their conversations included discussions of sexual activity and masturbation.
The student told investigators she and Gilbert spoke over FaceTime after the attempted polygraph. She said he appeared scared and told her the examination had gone poorly and that investigators knew about their communications. She described them as good friends. When Nedrow asked whether she thought they were in a relationship, she said it felt like one and that she believed they both saw it that way.
Ivy wrote that Hershey called him again after reviewing the interview. According to Hershey, Gilbert said he had masturbated while looking at clothed photos the student sent him. Hershey also told Ivy that Gilbert reported discussing sexual topics with about 25 students since he turned 18.
The student’s parents consented to a search of her phone. A supplemental report says the sheriff’s office copied data from it Sept. 10 and made it available to Nedrow the following day. Ivy and Nedrow also went to Gilbert’s home Sept. 3 to speak with him. He was away when they arrived.
