Board Hears Results Of Internal Probe Into Hidden Bathroom Camera

NORTHFIELD, IL — Nearly a month after a cellphone camera was found hidden in the bathroom of a Sunset Ridge School, the former custodian accused of planting it there remains at large. Meanwhile, district officials are reviewing how the man got a job with two contractors despite previous allegations of misconduct in public bathrooms in Glenview and Northbrook.

On Tuesday, Sunset Ridge School District 29 board members are scheduled to meet in closed session with attorneys for the 477-student district to hear the preliminary results of a probe stemming from the Jan. 14 discovery of a hidden camera in a staff bathroom at the Northfield school. Police said security video quickly identified a custodial worker as the prime suspect, but authorities have been unable to locate him ever since.

"As soon as we first learned about this, we started a top-down internal investigation. After the investigation is completed, the Board will take actions deemed necessary and appropriate," Board President Adelbert Spaan said in a statement. "We are doing everything we can to determine the facts of what happened and to ensure our students, teachers and staff are never put in harm's way."

Although the bathroom at Sunset Ridge School where the cellphone was discovered taped to the inside of a trash bin was designated for staff use, there are indications that the facility was sometimes used by students — and that investigators may have found footage recorded in different bathrooms.

"We are aware through public comments that cell phone footage illicitly obtained by a now terminated contracted night custodian may not have been limited to a staff bathroom at Sunset Ridge School," Superintendent Ed Stange said in a Jan. 27 letter to parents and staff. "However, the District has not, to date, received information from the Northfield Police Department about who was recorded, the location(s) of the recordings, or how long the recordings may have been taking place."

David Garcia-Espinal, 40, of Highwood, worked in custodian services for Smith Maintenance Company and in food service for OrganicLife for more than four years before an unauthorized video recording felony warrant for his arrest was issued last month. In District 29, he had only been assigned to Sunset Ridge, with students from fourth to eighth grades, and never to Middlefork Primary School, according to district officials.

A representative of Smith Maintenance could not be reached for comment about the company's background check process. OrganicLife has so far declined to provide comment; a representative said no one would be available until after the board's Feb. 11 meeting. According to a statement from the school board, Northfield police have recently conducted new fingerprint-based background checks on all employees of both companies assigned to the district, and no disqualifying criminal activity was uncovered among current employees.

Related:
Custodian Accused Of Hiding Bathroom Camera Has Criminal History
Highwood Man Identified As School Bathroom Hidden Camera Suspect
Staff Finds Bathroom Camera At Northfield Elementary School: Cops

According to police and court records, Garcia-Espinal was convicted for felony possession of fraudulent identification and sentenced to four months probation in September 2012 after he was accused of masturbating in the women's restroom of a Glenview movie theater. No records of the disposition of the disorderly conduct charge were available from the Cook County Court Clerk, but the probation was completed in September 2013. Court records show prosecutors alleged he violated its terms for unspecified reasons.

According to police reports, Glenview detectives were able to identify Garcia-Espinal, who was employed at the Northbrook Sunset Foods using the name Nelson Pagan-Archeval, with the help of an alert prepared by Northbrook detectives issued the prior year in response to incidents in the bathroom at another movie theater.

The manager at the Northbrook Court AMC reported that two women complained that a man was standing atop the seat in the women's bathroom, leaning over the wall and taking pictures of women in stalls with a digital camera, police reported. When they showed up to investigate, the manager and another employee found a man matching Garcia-Espinal's description leaving the women's room with a silver digital camera and a large plastic bag. According to police reports, the man told the theater manager he had accidentally walked into the women's restroom while looking for the men's room. After she asked to see his camera and used her radio to call for assistance from other employees, the man took off running.

Northbrook police were called back to the theater in October 2011 for an incident that led theater management to ban Garcia-Espinal for six months and Northbrook detectives to issue an alert to other law enforcement agencies. According to police reports, a maintenance employee assigned to clean the women's bathroom found Garcia-Espinal inside. The employee told police she had seen the same man in women's rooms on at least three separate occasions over the past month.

After he was read his rights, Garcia-Espinal told officers "he entered the female restroom by mistake, that he did not pay attention to the sign on the door indicating it was designated for female use," police reported. He said he had not been to the theater in the past three years and "this is the first time he has made this mistake and he was sorry for causing this misunderstanding."

Superintendent Stange said the district had shared all the information they could. If Northfield police allow district officials to release any additional information, he said they would share it with the community.

"This incident has understandably created a great deal of anxiety, a search for answers, and a desire for resolution," Stange said. "Please know that we are doing all we can as a school district and are committed to transparency throughout this process. Because this is an active criminal investigation conducted by a separate public entity, our knowledge of, and ability to share, information is limited."

In a letter to district families, the board provided a list of directions it has so far provided administrators:

1. Engage an independent expert to provide an objective review of the District's human resources/employment practices, and make recommendations for improvement directly to the Board of Education.

2. Exceed the state's minimum requirements by mandating that all private vendor staff who have consistent presence in our schools complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check initiated and managed by the District prior to beginning employment, which is consistent with our existing practice for District employees.

3. Exceed the state's minimum requirements by mandating that the School District obtain updated fingerprint-based criminal background checks on a regular basis of all District employees and private vendors that have a consistent presence in our schools.

4. Exceed the state's minimum requirements by conducting annual searches of the Sex Offender and Murder and Violent Offender Against Youth registries for vendor staff that have consistent presence in our schools, which is consistent with our existing practice for District employees.

5. Ensure that all vendors working on-site during school hours are appropriately supervised.

6. Ensure that 2nd-shift custodial staff are limited to working in non-student occupied areas while students are present during regular school hours.

7. Assess the risks associated with groups that have access to our facilities (e.g., vendors, volunteers, visitors), and recommend actions to eliminate or minimize any related safety risks.

8. Continue to communicate the implementation of the recommendations listed here, and those garnered from the independent expert noted above, to the District 29 staff and community.

9. Partner with the District 29 community to advocate for changes in legislation that afford the same level of protection to staff and students across the state of Illinois that are articulated herein.

Any further actions will be taken by the board in response to a "thorough review of the criminal background check process" from the law firm Franczek, which is expected to provide recommendations during a closed session planned for the Feb. 11 meeting.

District officials said a special meeting to discuss potential disciplinary actions and changes to current policies is likely to be held before the board's next regular meeting on March 10.