Herrick Middle School teacher resigned over nude photos, documents show

DOWNERS GROVE — A District 58 middle school teacher resigned last year over scantily clad pictures of herself stored on a school computer and accusations that she might have emailed them to a minor, according to records.

Kimberly Mason, a former language arts teacher at Herrick Middle School, resigned in late August and forfeited her state teaching license rather than face termination from the district, according to a legal memo from the Illinois State Board of Education.

On Aug. 23, Downers Grove School District Superintendent Kari Cremascoli told the state board that district officials were planning to fire Mason "after they found evidence of inappropriate use of school computers," according to the memo between two attorneys in the general counsel office.

"Dr. Cremascoli alleged that Ms. Mason had pictures of herself clad in underwear or nude stored on her school computer and may have emailed them to a minor," according to the memo, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

The District 58 school board agreed to let Mason resign instead if she also surrendered her teaching certificate.

Mason admitted having pictures on her school computer "that showed her clad in underwear and less," but she denied emailing them to a minor, according to the memo. She surrendered her license Aug. 27.

No criminal charges were filed in the incident.

District officials first became aware of the potential inappropriate activity soon after Mason's husband told Glendale Heights police in August that he suspected his wife was having an affair with a former student, now a 16-year-old high school junior, according to a police report.

The report was filed on a Friday, and school officials were notified on the following Monday, Cremascoli said in a phone interview this week.

The allegations that Cremascoli then passed on to the state board of education — including that Mason might have emailed inappropriate photos to a minor — came directly from police, Cremascoli said.

Citing the privacy of personnel issues, Cremascoli declined to say if the district discovered anything else or what specifically led the school board to want to fire Mason two weeks later.

Neither Mason nor her husband could be reached Tuesday. The couple filed for divorce in late August, according to DuPage County Circuit Court records.

After the police report was filed, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services was notified, and an investigation found the report of abuse was "indicated" — which means an investigator found "credible evidence" of abuse, a spokesman said Monday.

But — as Cremascoli noted — the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office investigated, and prosecutors do not plan to file charges.

"After reviewing everything, whatever the allegations were, they didn't rise to elevation of criminal prosecution," said Paul Darrah, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office.

The case is reminiscent of one last year at Benet Academy in Lisle, except in that instance the state's attorney brought criminal charges.

In September, the school's former president pleaded guilty to misdemeanor obscenity after images of an "adult sexual nature" were found on his school computer. In the case at Benet, however, someone else had viewed the images.

On the other hand, Cremascoli said she does not believe the district acted rashly in the disciplinary measure. For district administrators, all decisions ultimately come down to the welfare of students, she said.

"The safety and welfare of our students is our top priority," Cremascoli said. "When and if potential issues arise — whatever those issues are — we act swiftly and prudently to ensure the safety of our students."

The reasons for Mason's departure were not publicly released at the time, and the allegations were first reported Monday by the Chicago Tribune.

Cremascoli said the district chose to treat the matter as it would any personnel matter and not disclose the unproven accusations. She defended that decision again on Monday.

"There wasn't anything to share, and I'm very confident that the district acted exactly as it should have," Cremascoli said.