Goshen school board president resigns after child sex sting video posted online

Goshen Local Schools board president John Gray has resigned after a video posted by child predator sting group shows him talking about meeting someone in Indiana he believed was an 11-year-old girl, district officials said.

Superintendent Darrell Edwards said in a statement on the school district’s website that the video brought to the attention of school officials late Saturday “is deeply disturbing to our entire school district and Goshen Local School community.

“Our district leaders will be consulting with legal counsel and should more information become available, we will communicate it to our families immediately,” Edwards said.

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Edwards said Gray, who was serving his fifth term on the school board, resigned Sunday and the incident remains under investigation.

The incident occurred about 100 miles northwest of Goshen, in Farmland, Indiana.

The video was streamed on YouTube on Sunday from a group called "PCM: Predator Catchers Muncie." The group is one of many that post stings to social media. These groups film encounters with people after someone poses as a juvenile on messaging apps.

In the video, a man is talking about a potential encounter with an 11-year-old. Eventually, the man is led away by officers from the Farmland Police Department and the Randolph County Sheriff's Office, but the film shows the handcuffs are later removed and the man drives away on his own.

© Provided This screenshot from the Goshen Local Schools website shows the members of the school board, including John Gray, who resigned Sunday, according to the district superintendent.

Edwards confirmed to The Enquirer on Monday that Gray is the man in the video.

The Enquirer reached out to Predator Catcher Muncie. The group declined to comment for this article citing the ongoing investigation.

The Randolph County Sheriff's Department said it is investigating an incident, but did not confirm whether the man in the video is Gray. Farmland police would not comment on the incident and referred all questions to the county sheriff.

In 2018, a Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy was filmed in a similar sting by a different group. The deputy resigned from his job and an administrative investigation was launched. According to Hamilton County court record available online, the deputy was not charged with a crime.

At the time, Sgt. Dave Ausdenmoore with the Regional Electronics and Computer Investigations Unit told The Enquirer that operations by such civilian sting groups don't result in criminal convictions and make it harder for law enforcement to do their jobs.

The Enquirer is working to obtain incident reports or other documentation about the video and Gray's resignation.

Education reporterMadeline Mitchell contributed to this report.

The Enquirer will update this report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Goshen school board president resigns after child sex sting video posted online