Sandridge principal, teacher resign amid sex scandal9 O$ q4 w( ^# i0 ^& X `9 V! [% T. @
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BY JOAN CARREON AND CHRIS KELLER7 Z9 \% P! e/ V5 J& j- [( G
The Times " ]# a9 k4 v2 k( q 0 W! P5 ?; f/ H6 {4 Y! sBLOOM TOWNSHIP | Sandridge Elementary School Principal Leroy Coleman and teacher Janet Lofton resigned Thursday after copies of DVD recordings of them being sexually intimate at school were sent to parents, officials and The Times. . }2 S2 c7 T+ L9 S5 w$ y: d" H! B1 ~% j: k; v- i
Sandridge District 172 School Board Attorney John Izzo said Coleman and Lofton submitted their letters of resignation. Coleman cited health issues, and Lofton indicated illness in the family as the reasons for their departures. Both resignations are effective immediately. ! e/ J) h7 n0 t( o; c" p X2 s5 i" S( p" K8 v
Lofton could not be reached for comment. Coleman declined comment. 4 y/ ~% h* `2 L5 C' Q5 B. E' ^% a% v( D
"I'd rather, at this point, have no comment," he said as he left Sandridge shortly before noon. He said he knew nothing about the video recording.3 ?* K8 o( ]6 P' \
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"I have to find out what's going on," he said. , R0 j( N1 p' o6 H J+ P: W, R. ?6 v9 P& r' n2 HBoth Lofton and Coleman reportedly are married to other people. 4 F7 a) m8 r0 a) Y2 L' O; p+ d 4 r/ t2 h8 Z1 D$ _9 FEarlier in the day, Sandridge Elementary School parents were busy contacting state and suburban Cook County education officials, Sandridge board members, Superintendent Diane Dyer-Dawson and media representatives after they had watched the DVD recording of Coleman and Lofton engaged in sexual activity in his office at school.8 {+ m$ x% i0 q' A x
1 U5 T, V/ @) a" E0 N; AParents Kim Grivakis and Rosie Solis were among those who received a padded envelope containing the DVD in their mailboxes at home Wednesday. The package did not have a return address but was postmarked as being mailed from Flossmoor. It contained the note: "Sandridge District 172 Principal makes porn in school office with staff members during school hours." 7 `% M* {( L( R: a. O $ o" K: c& J5 bSome Sandridge teachers also received the recording, as did The Times and suburban Cook County Regional Superintendent Robert Ingraffia./ w( x: [+ W5 x/ u' A# d$ s8 `
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The recording showed Coleman and Lofton engaged in sexual activity in Coleman's office during school hours and after school on different dates in December and January. It also showed Coleman hugging and caressing another Sandridge staff member on a separate occasion.: _. p* j a# S
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Grivakis and Solis, who have been at odds with Coleman during his time as Sandridge's principal, said they were shocked by what they saw and said it should not have happened while at school when children were in the building.