Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree Sr. today filed three felony charges against a school resource officer in Kansas City, Kansas, accused of aggravated indecent liberties against children.
Michael Eugene English Sr., age 57, a school resource officer with the Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools Police Department, was charged with lewd fondling or touching three children between 14 and 16 years old, according to the district attorney.
If convicted, English would face a maximum sentence of 172 months, according to Dupree.
The Kansas City, Kansas, school district has its own police department, which English joined in 2015, according to Dupree. Before then, he was a security guard with the school district, according to the district attorney’s office.
Dupree said English had not yet been taken into custody, as of 4 p.m. Thursday. He said English was on administrative leave currently.
The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department became involved when a person called them about it March 21, then they began to investigate, he said. He added the investigation is ongoing.
A police spokesman earlier sent out a news release that there were search warrants being served at Kansas City, Kansas, middle schools, in connection with this investigation.
Dupree said law enforcement officers in Wyandotte County are working to make sure that the community is safe and that anyone who violates the law, including officers, will be brought to justice.
“There is nobody above the law, and nobody is going to hide anything from anyone,” Dupree said.
He said it was important for persons to know that they can call police, and that the district attorney would pursue justice regardless of who it is. He asked residents to come forward to the police with information if a crime is being committed.
Some information was not disclosed because juveniles are involved in this case, according to the district attorney. Authorities did not release the name of the school where English worked.
Dupree said he believes there is probable cause to charge English, and added that English is innocent until proven guilty.