Principal 'sorry' over sex tape

2007-04-18 07:27

Lynwood, Illinois - A suburban Chicago elementary school principal apologised for a graphic sex video that was surreptitiously filmed in his office, and pleaded with the public to not discount his career as an educator.

"I ask you not to judge me by one action, but by the sum of my career," said Leroy Coleman, the principal at Sandridge Elementary School who resigned last week citing health reasons.

"I am a compassionate, hardworking person, who was a successful administrator."

Copies of the two-and-a-half-hour DVD showed up in some parents' mailboxes. One copy viewed by The Associated Press shows a man and a woman hugging, kissing and engaged in various sex acts inside an office. A separate portion of the tape, apparently from a different time, shows another woman hugging and touching the same man.

A teacher and an aide who allegedly appeared in the video also resigned last week. Janet Lofton wrote in a resignation letter that she was stepping down immediately "due to the illness of a family member".

Teacher's aide Anjayla Reed resigned after the superintendent contacted her about allegations that she appears on a separate portion of the tape. She gave no reason for her resignation.

'Indiscretion' did not affect children

Speaking with his wife by his side, Coleman said on Monday that the liaisons were filmed without his knowledge and that his "indiscretion" did not affect children at the school. He became principal at the school in 2005.

Authorities are investigating whether a crime was committed.

John Palcu, first deputy chief of the Cook County sheriff's police, said two employees had been questioned about the videos, which authorities believed were recorded by a device attached to a heating vent in the principal's office.

"I don't believe we'll ever find the camera," he said. "I think it was set up and then taken down after the mission was accomplished."

Meanwhile, an attorney for the school district said school board officials would likely begin the process to trying to revoke Coleman's licence, as well as those of the other two employees.

The videos, which anonymously arrived in mailboxes shortly before Tuesday's school board election, infuriated parents, who said the three should have been fired. Eight candidates are competing for four board slots.

Coleman's lawyer, Raymond Wigell, said his client did not plan to return to the education field and was considering legal action against whoever planted the camera. According to date stamps on the film, the encounters were taped in December and January.

- AP