An employee of an Episcopal Church cathedral in Ohio who formerly worked at a local school district has been arrested for allegedly soliciting a minor for sexual activity.
Brett Boardwine, who worked in communications for the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland and as technology manager for Streetsboro City School District, was arrested last month for allegedly attempting to solicit a 15-year-old boy.
Boardwine had begun communicating online with someone he thought was a 15-year-old boy, and arranged to meet said boy behind a local business, Fox 8 News reports.
However, he was actually communicating with an undercover police officer and was arrested once he showed up at the meetup site. A jury charged him with attempted sexual conduct with a minor, possession of criminal tools and importuning, commonly defined as “the act of soliciting a minor under the age of 13 to engage in a sexual activity.”
Boardwine has been put on administrative leave, according to a statement from The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens, dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
“Our highest priority is the safety of those in our care,” Owens said. “While we currently have no reason to think anyone in the Trinity Cathedral community has been harmed, I have placed Brett on immediate administrative leave.”
Owens said he and others in the diocese were available for pastoral support, adding that “news like this is unsettling” and “may stir up painful memories for some.”
Streetsboro City Schools Superintendent Cynthia Deevers issued a statement last week saying that she was “made aware that a former part-time, non-teaching employee was arrested on charges of importuning after their employment with the district ended.”
“We are fully cooperating with local law enforcement and remain committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our students and staff,” Deevers stated, according to Fox 8
Regarding the possibility that Boardwine engaged in criminal behavior while working for the school district, Streetsboro Police Chief Patricia Wain said that authorities had “no indication that anything took place at the schools.”
“Is it something that we can 100% rule out until the investigation is over? No, but at the same time, usually we have a little bit more indicators, clues, that we have a bigger target audience to look at, and at this point we just don’t have that with him,” Wain was quoted as saying.
