Sayville School Chief Releases Letter Regarding Custodian's Arrest

The Sayville School District issued the following Tuesday afternoon following the arrest of a Lincoln Avenue Elementary custodian, Shawn Mead, on one count of possessing a sexual performance by a child, according to police.

Patch reported earlier on the district's initial response to the arrest and allegation.

Patch is reprinting the entire letter received:

August 21, 2012

Re: Allegations of Child Pornography Possession

Dear Lincoln Avenue parents and the Sayville community:

The Sayville School District wants to assure all parents that the safety of our children is the utmost importance especially regarding the following incident.

This morning, we received information from the Suffolk County Police Computer Crimes Division alleging that a Patchogue resident who is employed as an evening custodian at Lincoln Avenue Elementary school was arrested early Tuesday morning in an investigation involving possession of child pornography on his personal computer.  At this point in time, only an arrest has been made; there has been no finding of guilt.

Information provided by the police indicated that no Sayville child was involved.

Immediately upon learning of this alleged unfortunate incident, the District has been proactive. The individual will be suspended pending a thorough investigation, and we have ensured that our School district computer networks have had no breach in security or filters. We believe, at this time, that no criminal activity occurred on school grounds nor within our school district computer network. 

We are saddened by this news and will keep parents informed as additional information becomes available.

Sincerely

Walter F. Schartner, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Sayville Schools