Friday, November 20, 2009 East Central Illinois

The arrest – and what has happened since

By: Amy F. Reiter

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Sunday, June 15, 2008
Story Photo

Photo by: Heather Coit

Jon White leaves one of his pretrial hearings in Urbana.

In spite of warning signs in two school districts, Jon White continued teaching in Urbana – until the mother of the first child to talk to Thomas Paine Elementary School Principal Janice Bradley about the incidents in White's classroom after school mentioned the situation to a teacher from another school.

That teacher told her husband, a University of Illinois police officer, who called Urbana investigator Duane Maxey around 8 a.m. Jan. 29, 2007.

Before the morning ended, Maxey talked to the mother who made the complaint, called DCFS for help and arranged for DCFS investigator Heather Forrest to interview the girl.

In an interview with The News-Gazette, Maxey said the information immediately made him suspicious.

"Teacher. Taste test. Banana. It sounds a little peculiar," he said.

After the interview with the mother, "you could tell from her response that it was something of a very grave and serious nature," Maxey said. "It was so suggestive of a sexual act."

The next day, Forrest conducted an interview with another child from Thomas Paine.

On Jan. 31, 2007 – two days later – police arrested White.

Several children were interviewed in the days immediately before and after the arrest, and nine girls who attend, or attended, Thomas Paine were indicated as White's victims. After the news about White broke in Urbana, two girls from White's previous school were indicated as victims in McLean County.

On Feb. 20, more than a year later and days before White's trial was due to begin, he pleaded guilty to eight counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, a lesser charge than the original, in which he admitted to deriving sexual gratification by having the girls suck a banana during the "taste test."

He was sentenced to 48 years for crimes in Champaign County and 12 years for crimes against two girls in McLean County. He'll serve the terms one after another.

In the week after White's arrest, Urbana Superintendent Gene Amberg took the blame, saying in an interview with The News-Gazette, "I am responsible. The buck does stop here."

He said that after the district's investigation of White following a parent complaint, the incident was found to be "a misunderstanding and not a case of sexual abuse. ... Since that case, we've monitored that person."

On Feb. 7, 2007, the same day as Amberg and a panel of mostly district employees met with parents at the school, Bradley was placed on paid administrative leave.

According to then-spokeswoman Kathy Wallig's journal, Amberg made the decision to put Bradley on leave after speaking with a parent from the second set of parents to talk with Bradley.

"Gene didn't know that conversation (with Bradley) had ever occurred until (this parent) told him on Feb. 7," Wallig wrote.

Bradley, former human resources director Carmelita Thomas and Amberg all planned to retire well before news of White's arrest broke, and none currently works for the Urbana school district.

Bradley referred questions to her lawyer, Sheryl Fitzjarrald of Dodson, Piraino & Associates in Champaign, who did not respond to requests for comment. Thomas declined to comment for this story. Amberg did not respond to requests for comment.

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