Victims’ Mother Questions School and Police Response in FMS Band Teacher Alleged Misconduct
FRANKFORT, Ind. (March 29, 2024) – Over 30 days has passed since a Frankfort mother found messages on her son’s phone – messages she alleges are “sexual” involving her middle school age son and Frankfort Middle School band teacher Austin King. She reported this to Community Schools of Frankfort Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda who in turn notified Frankfort Police Department Chief Scott Shoemaker.
Although King has resigned from FMS and the FPD has an open criminal case ongoing, the mother says the public is not being told the “complete truth.”
The mother reached out to Clinton County Today wanting to share information so the public can be better informed and understand the importance of cyber safety.
Due to the fact that the victims are minors, CCT is not using the name of the mother to protect the identities of the victims.
When the mother found the messages
The mother found the messages on February 18th within an application called Discord, a free app that allows users to communicate privately or in groups through text, voice, video, media, and files. She reached out to individuals whom she thought would have Dr. Rhoda’s mobile phone number.
According to a recording of a March 8th meeting provided to CCT, Dr. Rhoda acknowledges the mother’s attempt to reach him and that he called the mother on February 18th and established a meeting the next morning.
The mother tells CCT she informed Dr. Rhoda on the February 18th call the messages were “sexual” in nature and during the February 19th meeting with Dr. Rhoda, chief academic officer Eric Farley, FMS principal Kelly Berenda, and FMS assistant principal Josh Marshall, showed the messages and provided information showing how she confirmed the conversations were from King.
The mother shared how she determined it was King: “in another chat when it was just [King] and my son they talked about a playing test he needed to do at school.”
The mother said Dr. Rhoda stopped the meeting at that point.
“At that time Dr. Rhoda said he didn’t want to know anymore – that their process would be to contact Frankfort Police Department, from there the police department would handle it and then his team would handle the personnel side of it.”
FPD initial investigation
The mother said FPD arrived at her home approximately an hour after leaving the meeting with CSF staff.
“[An FPD officer] came by my house – he took some pictures of what screenshots I had on my phone and he said, ‘well, I have already talked to my chief and we don’t think there is enough information to criminally charge him so we are going to go ahead and close the case. But, you should expect a call from DCS (Indiana Department of Child Services) because I am a mandatory reporter.’”
The mother was surprised to hear the case would be closed so quickly.
“I didn’t even know what to say. No one had talked to my son. No one had taken the phone to go through it to make sure that was it.”
She told the officer of a time King was alone with her son once after school – stating the officer replied, “oh definitely inappropriate but nothing to criminally charge.”
On February 20th the mother spoke to a FPD school resource officer (SRO) looking for “an explanation on what the laws are and why we couldn’t criminally charge.”
The mother shared with the SRO there was another boy in the chat in addition to her son and the SRO said he would take her concerns to the investigator. However, the mother says the SRO told her after speaking with the investigator, “the investigator hadn’t heard anything about the case.”
The mother said the SRO looked at the computer case file and she had to sit down and explain the images to the SRO that were attached to the case.
“The pictures weren’t even in the right order – conversations didn’t make sense until he sat down with me and I explained.”
She adds the SRO said: “the big part is implication.” The mother continues by sharing the question she asked of the SRO: “But if I am implying the same thing you are implying – that is the same thing that anyone who reads these is implying – then doesn’t that warrant an investigation?”
After the conversation with the SRO, there is a pause in the mother hearing anything from CSF or FPD.
But, she does receive a message from King on February 20th.
The King message
On the March 8th recording, the mother is heard addressing the February 20th message from King sent to all FMS pep band members via a third-party communication app called Talking Points.
The mother asks Dr. Rhoda: “Did you know that [King] sent out a Talking Points [message] that Tuesday (February 20th)?”
Dr. Rhoda’s reply to the mother: “What’s Talking Points?”
The mother explains Talking Points to Dr. Rhoda as well as describing the message, “he would be out of the building for a few days and so they would not be doing the pep band game that Wednesday.”
King’s message of being out of the building for a few days conflicts with what Dr. Rhoda said earlier to the mother during the same March 8th meeting as well as comments attributed to Dr. Rhoda in the March 6th edition of The Frankfort Times newspaper.
Understanding the timeline of King’s administrative leave and resignation
During the first four minutes of the March 8th meeting, Dr. Rhoda explained how King was confronted with the messages inside the FMS building on February 20th prior to students entering, resulting in his resignation.
Dr. Rhoda is heard on the recording saying: “Mrs. Berenda and Mr. Marshall met with him before the school day started that next day – it would have been Tuesday morning – and confronted him with the string of messages that [FPD] sent me. [FPD] was able to send me those messages.
“I think there were a few more – most of them were [mother’s son], Mr. King, and another boy – but that could never be confirmed by police as to who that was.
“… Mr. King was confronted with that information and he resigned.”
The Frankfort Times reported on March 6th, “According to Rhoda, the teacher in question was immediately placed on administrative leave, with assurances that he would not be in contact with students during the investigation process.”
The mother asked Dr. Rhoda about the CSF internal investigation during the March 8th meeting.
“You didn’t have to do any more internal investigation than saying, ‘is this you?’ And he said, ‘yes.’”
Dr. Rhoda’s reply: “That’s it.”
She also asked if there had been previous complaints alleged against King. The recording shows a three second delay between the question asked and Dr. Rhoda’s reply.
“Not, not in this, not in this sense that you are talking about. So, not in the sense that we’re communicating, communicating with kids in this manner.”
The mother asks about any allegations of inappropriate comments made in the classroom by King.
Dr. Rhoda remarks: “Haven’t heard any word about it. That is what I am saying. We haven’t had any things said about him saying inappropriate things in class.
“We saw this person as a person who had success with band stuff, And, we saw he had great relationships with kids. Unfortunately, it was inappropriate.”
CCT asked Dr. Rhoda for clarification of the administrative leave and resignation dates after the March 12th School Board meeting given the agenda for that meeting did not include King being placed on administrative leave, only his resignation.
When Dr. Rhoda was asked if the resignation took place on February 20th or 22nd, he said King did not resign on the 20th that King was given time to make his decision.
“He did not resign right at that meeting. So, when they met with him they asked him – they shared that information with him and he had a decision to make, so he made a decision to resign as of Thursday the 22nd. So, we gave him time to make that decision.”
Dr. Rhoda clarified King was placed on leave on the 20th.
“He was on paid administrative leave as of the time that he left the office… he was escorted out of the building.”
Dr. Rhoda confirmed there was no additional internal investigation that took place between the 20th and 22nd stating, “No. We had what we needed.”
When Dr. Rhoda was asked about any previous allegations of wrongdoing he said King was “a popular teacher.”
The reopening of the criminal case
“Actually, the case only got reopened because I called DCS when I never received the call from them that the Frankfort Police Department told me I should expect,” the mother told CCT.
Dr. Rhoda, while speaking to the mother on March 8th regarding the reopening of the criminal case said, “[I]t was reopened again, but that was based on – because you pursued that.
So had you not pursued that, would it have come open again? … It’s hard to tell on that part, but the point is it is open again. You had control over that. You called. You advocated for your kids. You advocated for other kids, potentially.”
The mother contacted DCS on February 23rd and received a call from a DCS social worker.
The mother recounted her conversation with the DCS case worker: “So, I called and filed my own report which made it through the screening immediately and got a call back from a case worker who was very concerned that the Frankfort Police didn’t see a need to investigate.
“I asked, ‘has it even been reported?’ And, she said she would be the only one to handle it and it hadn’t come across her desk.”
The mother continued, “So, either none of the mandatory reporters reported it or they didn’t give enough information for it to pass screening.”
The mother adds, “I don’t know that no one reported it… I reported the same information I gave the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, and both the principal and assistant principal at the middle school.”
What is a mandatory reporter?
According to Ind. Code § 31-33-5-1, [A]n individual who has reason to believe that a child is a victim of child abuse or neglect shall make a report as required by this article.
The Indianapolis Bar Association has written, “The law does not restrict the reporting obligation to people who know about child abuse or neglect. If you have any reason to believe a child is abused or neglected, you must report, and you must report immediately.”
FPD Detective contacts mother
The mother said she received a call from an FPD Detective on February 26th who came to the house the same day to retrieve her son’s phone. She added the detective said to her, “unfortunately having that week for people to delete whatever has probably hurt the case.”
Since the reopening of the case the mother says the son who was in the Discord chat with King has gone for a forensic interview at Quinton’s House per the request of FPD. The interview was conducted by members of Heartford House Child Advocacy Center of Lafayette. According to the Heartford House website, they provide a “process for talking with children [that] utilizes a method that helps minimize additional trauma that victims experience when asked to repeat details of a crime.”
The mother was not allowed to watch the interview. She said an outcome from the interview was FPD asking for the phone of a second son as well as asking that he be allowed to be interviewed. The second son has been interviewed.
Mental health impact on the victims and mother
The mother shared with Dr. Rhoda during the March 8th meeting the mental health impact that this has taken on her boys.
“I had a teacher stop me in the parking lot to tell me how worried he was about [son 2] that he seems depressed. That he is not the same goofy kid that he has always been in his class that he has to tell to quit talking.
“This is the only support I have for them right now. And right now I have one teacher that reaches out to tell me what he’s noticed. He pulled [son 1] because he was teary in the lunchroom, that’s not [like] him. I just want you to know this is what I noticed and I will let [the counselor] know.”
Dr. Rhoda tells the mother he will follow up with two counseling services to see if he could facilitate a more timely intake for both her and her sons adding “they take all insurance.”
CCT asked Dr. Rhoda on March 12th if the district has a policy in place to provide mental health care to students who are victims of actions carried out by CSF staff.
His reply: “We’re fortunately – with the communication that we were privy to – it’s pretty limited number. And, then we’ll do whatever we need to do on our end to be able to help facilitate any kind of mental health services that need to take place.
“I don’t know of, unfortunately, this has happened in other places, you know, what is our liability on that, when that happens. Do districts pay for that – for the mental health piece of it or not?…
“In any type of traumatic situation, we want to at least be a facilitator of that.… I think we want to be able to do what we can to make things right whatever that might be; it just depends on individual situations….
“I think we’re fortunate, unfortunate-fortunate, in this that we’re not talking masses. So, we’re very limited in number.”
Conclusion
CCT asked the mother to share her thoughts after meeting with Dr. Rhoda
“I felt like he was going to try to smooth things over and make me just think that he did everything that he could and I left thinking, he thinks he smoothed everything over.
“I’m still angry – I’m still frustrated at the fact that we’re just letting it go. That he seems so sure that it’s just my boys that were affected and he is okay with just letting it go with that. And, not trying to find out were there other kids involved.
“I think I came out angrier because there was a little bit of hope that he did an internal investigation, but knowing what that internal investigation actually was just made me that much more angry.
“I know he has his pillars of excellence… but one of his is building our school population by one percent – figuring out why we have kids that live in Frankfort district, but go to Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Rossville, wherever it is they go.
“And, I can’t help but think how he felt this would affect that pillar if it came out.”
FPD reply
CCT asked FPD Chief Shoemaker for an update on this case. He sent the following:
“Still waiting on the phones to be downloaded. No new news on the case. We sent them March 8 so it should be soon.”
CCT informed Chief Shoemaker the mother had given an interview and asked if he would comment. CCT has not heard back.
If you know of or suspect child abuse or neglect, DCS operates a toll-free hotline, 1-800-800-5556, that accepts reports of child abuse or neglect 24 hours a day. DCS allows these reports to be made anonymously.
