UPDATED: Former Jefferson School Paraprofessional Masturbated in Front of Students

This story has been updated with a copy of the letter sent from the superintendent of schools to the Jefferson School community in April. 

According to a report on NJ.com, Kenneth Palmer, a 21-year-old former paraprofessional at Jefferson School in Maplewood, masturbated in front of students at the school and took “upskirt” video of a student.

According to a South Orange-Maplewood School District spokesperson, Palmer worked in the district from February 2017 until September 2017. The district was notified of his arrest on December 5, 2017, but “law enforcement explicitly directed us not to discuss this matter during the investigation.” When the investigation was closed and Palmer was charged in April, the district sent a letter to the Jefferson community (see below).

Paraprofessionals in the school district are hired through a vendor, Essex Regional Educational Services Commission. Paraprofessionals were outsourced eight years ago in order to help close a multi-million dollar budget gap. In his letter from April, Interim Superintendent of Schools Dr. Thomas Ficarra wrote, “It should also be noted that, as required by State Law, the paraprofessional was cleared to work by the NJ Department of Education Criminal History Review Unit prior to being assigned to work at Jefferson.”

NJ.com reports that, after Palmer was arrested on September 28, 2017, for masturbating in front of children at a ShopRite in Succasunna, NJ, video and photos from the school were found on his phone.

According to the Succasunna police report, the phone contained videos and photos of Palmer masturbating in front of students as he walked through school hallways. One video showed Palmer masturbating while “outside a bathroom door as two students, an 8-year-old and a 9-year-old, walked out of the bathroom past him” and another “showed Palmer masturbating and approaching a different 9-year-old student as he/she was facing a water fountain.”

The police report also states that Palmer secretly took upskirt photos of the “undergarment-clad genital area of another 9-year-old student, taken from under the student’s desk.”

Palmer was scheduled for a court hearing in Essex County yesterday but it has been postponed until July 23. He is being held at Morris County Correctional Facility since his arrest.

Read the full NJ.com story here. 

This story will be updated.

Letter from Superintendent Dr. Thomas Ficarra to the Jefferson community, sent in April 2018:

Dear Jefferson Families and Staff,

On December 5, 2017, the district was informed that a paraprofessional who had worked at Jefferson School from February 2017 until September 2017 was arrested in another county, and was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.

It should be noted that law enforcement explicitly directed us not to discuss this matter during the investigation.  Since criminal charges were filed against the paraprofessional in Essex County last week, we are now permitted to provide you with limited information.  However, we have been directed not to release any specific details or the names of specific individuals relevant to the case.

Any parent, child or staff member whom law enforcement and related State Agencies felt they needed to speak to has already been contacted. 

It should also be noted that, as required by State Law, the paraprofessional was cleared to work by the NJ Department of Education Criminal History Review Unit prior to being assigned to work at Jefferson.  We understand that the confidentiality required by the legal process can be frustrating, and appreciate your patience and support.

Dr. Thomas Ficarra
Interim Superintendent