A high-ranking teacher at Mystic Valley Regional Charter School has been placed on administrative leave after a news outlet reported today that the teacher previously acted in pornographic films.
Kevin Hogan, who was hired to head the English department last August at the Malden school, was placed on leave pending an investigation into the matter, said Martin Gately, Mystic Valley spokesman.
The assertion was first made by FOX 25, in a segment in which a reporter confronts Hogan and asks him about his pornographic past.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Hogan said in the video.
The school notified parents of the situation about 2:40 p.m. today in an e-mail reassuring them that charter staff followed regular hiring protocol when they checked his background in California, where he formerly resided, and in Massachusetts, according to the e-mail and Gately.
“What the media outlet has claimed, if true, was not reported by the employee in the application process,” the message to parents said.
The background checks in both states came back clean, and “the references the school received for this employee were superlative,” according to the e-mail. Hogan came to apply for the position through a third-party recruiter, Carney, Sandoe & Associates, which performed an initial screening, the e-mail said.
“We do wish to confirm the school’s insistence that any applicant for a position here be candid and forthright about disclosing past employment positions,” it read.
The school’s investigation is a result of the media inquiry, and not a parent or student complaint, it said.
Hogan also served at the school’s crew coach this fall.
Following is the text of the e-mail sent to parents:
“Recently, a local news outlet contacted the school asserting that one of our employees was unsuitable because of the nature of this person’s previous employment. When we hire employees for the school, in any capacity, we seek comprehensive information about their past employment activities and fitness for the position. In this particular case what the media outlet has claimed, if true, was not reported by the employee in the application process. The employee in question came to us through a recruiting relationship with Carney, Sandoe & Associates, which is the largest school recruitment firm in the country. Supplemental to the screening process conducted by Carney, Sandoe & Associates, the school followed its normal hiring practices, which included CORI checks in both California and Massachusetts. Additionally, the references the school received for this employee were superlative. We are unable to offer further comment about these circumstances until we have completed our own investigation. We do wish to confirm the School’s insistence that any applicant for a position here be candid and forthright about disclosing past employment positions. And we can confirm that our investigation results exclusively from what we learned from this media source and not from any complaint by any parent or child. The employee in question has been placed on administrative leave pending the completion of our investigation.”
Rick Veilleux
School Business Manager
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
