On Tuesday, Fox4KC reported the salacious details involving Justin Adrian, until last month an Olathe East High School teacher and Democratic city councilman from Shawnee, and a male student. Adrian is the third Olathe high school teacher this calendar year to run afoul of the law on sex charges.
This incident was first reported nearly a month ago. Although Kerry Lane, the Olathe East principal, sent a reassuring letter to parents about Adrian’s dismissal, the public has not heard a word from the Olathe School superintendent or the KNEA, the Kansas teacher’s union, about how they intend to prevent these kind of incidents in the future.
The media have shown no interest in following up. They have distinct standards for Catholic and public schools. Last year, there were six cases in the North Kansas City School District within a 13-month period, and the NKC school superintendent never even got his name in the paper.
The Adrian case is particularly troubling given its swift and casual recklessness. According to court records, the student told police he began communicating with Adrian on September 6 via Grindr.
Fox 4 describes Grindr as a “dating app,” but that is pure euphemism. In reality, the app allows gay men to find nearby hook-ups instantly. September 6 was a school day. Almost assuredly, thanks to Grindr, the two began communicating on the school grounds.
On that first day, Adrian asked the student, whom he knew to be a student at his school, to meet him later that day. When the student declined, the persistent Adrian asked him four more times that same day.
On September 7, the next day, the student met Adrian in Adrian’s classroom. According to court documents, as reported by Fox 4, “Adrian locked his door then began kissing and sexually touching the teen over his clothing. Police said Adrian then performed oral sex on the teen.” He then wrote the student a pass so he could arrive late at his next class.
Given the swiftness of Adrian’s advance, it is hard to believe he has not done this before. Kudos to the student’s parents for not accepting this kind of gay, student-teacher hook-up as the new norm.
Shame on the KNEA for not taking any steps to address the problem of student-teacher sex in the age of social media.
