Elgin sex offender working at Batavia schools

Thanks to some observant secretaries, Batavia police have arrested a child sex offender employed by an agency contracted to work in the Rotolo Middle School cafeteria.

Gary L. Gasper, 41, of 118 W. Chicago St., Apt. E, Elgin, faces four felony charges of unlawful presence in a school zone.

If convicted, he faces up to three years in prison.

Batavia Police Detective Eric Mathewson said the middle school liaison officer and secretaries became suspicious after Gasper was reluctant to sign in as a school visitor last week, and police did a background check on him.

"The middle school secretaries reported him as odd and not very cooperative in our sign-in, sign-out procedure," Batavia school Superintendent Jack Barshinger said. "If it doesn't smell right, take action. Don't hesitate to be overly cautious."

Gasper was working as a substitute employee for an agency subcontracted under Sodexho, the district's foodservice contractor. Barshinger said it was Sodexho's responsibility to conduct background checks. A message left at Sodexho's headquarters was not returned.

Gasper worked at the middle school Nov. 5, 6 and Monday. He also went to Batavia High School for a short time Monday as requested by his employer, Mathewson said.

Mathewson said Gasper did not have contact with children, nor did he make any advances toward them. Barshinger added that his administration has interviewed 16 people at the school so far to track Gasper's whereabouts, and it did not appear he had any individual contact with students.

Barshinger on Tuesday sent out an e-mail to parents who are on a district notification list. The approximately 1,500 Rotolo students also took notes home to their parents Tuesday afternoon.

"I am gravely concerned by this incident," read part of the statement. "The Rotolo Middle School Office staff has been commended for their action. They demonstrated the ongoing vigilance of our employees to provide a safe and secure environment for our students. The trust of our parents and community is vital to the success of District 101. We will work with all of our subcontractors to assure such a breach in security does not happen again."

Gasper was arrested early Monday afternoon when he returned to the middle school from the high school, Mathewson said.

Under state law, convicted child sex offenders are banned from school grounds.

Gasper was convicted in 1992 of first-degree sexual assault of a 9-year-old in Green Lake County in central Wisconsin. He was released from prison in August 2000, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

In 2005, he was arrested by Elgin police for failure to notify authorities of a change of address. He pleaded guilty in 2006 and was sentenced to two years in prison, court records show.

An Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman said Gasper was eligible for day-per-day credit and was released from prison April 24.

Gasper also was jailed for five days after being found guilty of obstructing justice by giving Elgin police a false name in October 2005, court records show.

He was being held in the Kane County Jail on $50,000 bond and has a Nov. 29 court date.

Message to parents

The following is the complete text of a note the Batavia Dist. 101 superintendent sent home Tuesday. It also was sent out via to parents via email.

BPS101 Chalkboard

ARREST

I need to share with you a serious breach of District 101 safety procedures which occurred last week. We have discovered that a subcontractor of District 101 hired a substitute employee without following the required criminal background check procedure. The substitute employee is known to have worked at Rotolo Middle School and Batavia High School. This lapse in procedures created a potential serious situation. On Monday, Rotolo Middle School Police Liaison, Rhonda Komes, conducted a routine background check based on concerns from the Rotolo Middle School office staff. The background check confirmed that the temporary employee was a convicted sex offender. The temporary employee was arrested at Rotolo Middle School. At no time was this employee in our elementary schools.

District 101 is currently conducting two investigations. Greg Romaneck, Director of Human Resources, is conducting interviews to determine the exact whereabouts of the temporary employee and any potential contact with students during his 3 days of employment with our subcontractor. Leah Swanquist, Assistant Director of Building & Grounds, is investigating the breach of contract with our subcontractor and developing corrective measures. The results of these investigations will be used to create a remediation plan.

I am gravely concerned by this incident. The Rotolo Middle School Office staff has been commended for their action. They demonstrated the ongoing vigilance of our employees to provide a safe and secure environment for our students. The trust of our parents and community is vital to the success of District 101. We will work with all of our subcontractors to assure such a breach in security does not happen again.

Jack Barshinger

Superintendent

Batavia Public Schools