[Warning: graphic content]
There's a storm brewing in the Lakota school district north of Cincinnati.
Parents are outraged about allegations that Matt Miller, the Lakota school superintendent, has a highly compromised sexual history.
There are credible reports that Miller has fantasies involving sexual contact with children, even some in his own school district, and attempted to enlist his ex-wife to enact these fantasies for him.
And this is on top of admissions that Miller solicited unknown men through Craigslist to engage in relations with his ex-wife, possibly including himself as well.
A group has launched a petition drive to put pressure on the school board to at least put Miller on administrative leave while launching a thorough internal investigation. At press time, 452 people had signed the petition.[Update: signatures now at 570]
Parents want answers. The safety of the district’s children should be the first concern, and many are frustrated with the secrecy and lack of appropriate response by the majority of the school board as well as the Butler County Sheriff's Department.
A police investigation was launched after the allegations were taken to the Butler County sheriff's department by a concerned parent. But law enforcement rather quickly concluded that no criminal action by Miller had taken place, apparently without thoroughly examining Miller’s phones, computers, etc. None were confiscated as part of the investigation.
However, police did verify certain aspects of claims by Miller’s ex-wife about the Millers’ marriage-smashing sex life, activities labeled “role-playing” and “pillow talk.” As more and more boundaries were breeched, Miller’s ex-wife refused to go the next step.
A September 28 article in the Enquirer confirmed that the couple’s “pillow talk” was about child molestation:
"The investigation report states Miller says he and his ex-wife would 'role-play' and engage in 'pillow talk,' which on one occasion included a discussion of drugging, molesting and recording three kids."
I ask you, ladies: if your husband engaged in “pillow talk” that involved sex with children, where exactly would you place that pillow in his anatomy? I know my answer.
But this is a school superintendent. Think about that. Should any school official or teacher who is a “minor attracted person” (i.e., potential pedophile), already soliciting adults for grossly immoral sexual behavior, be permitted to keep a position, once it is confirmed the individual has fantasies involving sex with children?
Doesn’t such conduct clearly violate Ohio’s ethical standards for educators? Miller’s attorney told the Enquirer that the allegations are false and Miller expects to be “fully vindicated.”
Well, does that mean Miller did not solicit men via Craigslist? That’s not what the evidence shows. As part of the Millers’ divorce proceedings, Craigslist was subpoenaed and Miller’s salacious solicitation of a male to have sex with his wife is part of the evidence on file.
This is not behavior most would desire in a superintendent.
Despite predatory and self-confirmed sexual interests in children, would the teachers’ union, Ohio Education Association, defend Matt Miller if he faces dismissal? I am guessing they might.
We know that predatory fantasies escalate and usually lead to some kind of action and apparently the fantasies were already to the action stage, albeit seeking to use his wife as the agent of molestation. She thankfully refused to be a part of sexual assault or incest.
The Lakota school board is conducting its own investigation but refuses to release any records regarding emails between Matt Miller and the board after this all came to light. Board legal counsel is saying they can’t be released because these records are not “public” yet.
Board member Darbi Boddy disputes this claim. Since board discussion about the sheriff’s investigation and the concerned parent’s information has taken place, it should become public record.
The individual who brought the matter to the attention of both the sheriff’s department and the Lakota school board is a Lakota mom who learned about Miller’s behavior from his ex-wife. In an email to the board on August 22, 2022, the Lakota mom said this:
“The allegations against him are that he is extremely dangerous. During and prior to their divorce in 2019, these topics were discussed with lawyers and allegedly admitted by Matt Miller to a marriage counselor.... On many occasions Matt has talked his wife into sleeping with strange men from Craigslist. During this time he would watch from his cell phone at work. She alleges his behavior escalated in 2018 and 2019.”
Apparently, the escalation included a request by Miller for his wife to have sex with their young adult son, his friends, and videotape it. Then the email outlines the next horrifying step.
“He asked her if she would volunteer to babysit 3 young boys whose parents were friends of hers. These 3 young boys are still students of Lakota and are in 2nd, 5th & 9th grade right now. In 2019, they were all younger.
“She alleges that he asked her to volunteer to babysit, drug them, molest them & videotape this for him.”
At a September board meeting, president Lynda O’Connor said, "To date, the board has not received any credible evidence of wrongdoing. However, in order to execute due diligence, and with the support of the superintendent, a neutral party with no ties to Lakota has begun a review of the facts to confirm that the Superintendent is not a threat to students and staff."
Of the five board members, only Darbi Boddy did not agree with this statement. Boddy has pressed in recent months for much more accountability about the Lakota curriculum, including critical race theory teaching. She and Miller disagreed at times, and some have accused Miller of launching a politically-motivated campaign against his board opponents, the foremost of whom was Boddy.
Boddy said this about the Miller investigation:
“The police have confirmed that at the very least our superintendent Matt Miller has sexual desires that he acts on in ways that are corrupting of others and puts himself and others in psychological and physical danger. These are not the character traits any rational person would look for in a superintendent of schools who represents the values of a community. I strongly disapprove of how this has been handled from the very beginning.”
Boddy also stated that, in consultation with attorneys, she believes the Lakota board is in violation of sunshine laws by not releasing records’ requests.
Parent Kristi Ertel has submitted a professional misconduct complaint about Matt Miller to the Ohio Department of Education, and included attachments including the Butler County police report and a subpoenaed response from the Craigslist account of Matt Miller, soliciting a male to participate with Miller’s ex-wife in a sexual liaison. It is unclear whether Miller was to also participate or if this was to be videotaped for him to view.
The whole situation reeks, doesn’t it?
If children are in danger, it's incumbent upon the school board to take action. Everything possible should be done to keep children safe and to reassure parents as they drop their children off that the school is a safe environment. If the unthinkable happens and any child is endangered, every board member who went along with this secrecy faces lawsuits.
In today’s cancel culture, school officials face professional consequences over a badly-chosen word or phrase.
Shouldn’t this rise to the same, or a far higher, level of concern?
