At yesterday’s weekly press briefing Wilton Police holds with local media (including GOOD Morning Wilton), Capt. John Lynch confirmed that the department has opened two cases regarding possible past incidents involving Eric Von Kohorn and children at Wilton Preschool Services.
Von Kohorn was arrested by State Police on Aug. 20 on two charges involving alleged possession and distribution of child pornography.
According to Lynch, one of the cases involves an incident from 2013 that school officials detailed publicly at last night’s meeting to disseminate information to parents and answer questions. Superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith said that a complaint involving Von Kohorn was made by a family in January 2013. The complaint was made to preschool administrators “based on a statement made by their child…having to do with a toileting concern,” explained superintendent Dr. Kevin Smith.
Smith said that at the time, the complaint was “fully investigated by district staff,” who concluded that Von Kohorn was not involved in the toileting of the child. “He was not in the bathroom, Mr. Von Kohorn did not toilet the child,” Smith said.
According to the superintendent, the school did report the matter at the time to DCF [Department of Children and Families], which reviewed the matter and found “the concern did not rise to a level that would necessitate an investigation.”
Smith said that the district has now reached out to DCF and Wilton Police since Von Kohorn’s recent arrest, “to take another look, just to be as safe and sound and sure as we can be with information contained in the investigation report” for that Jan. 2013 matter.
Lynch confirmed that this matter is one of two cases they have now opened following last week’s arrest of Von Kohorn.
The second case “came to light after the arrest,” according to Lynch.
This corroborates with what Smith said at the meeting, that since the arrest, two families have contacted him regarding changes in behavior that they observed in their children “that may be as a result of contact with Mr. Von Kohorn.” He also said that Wilton Police are investigating those families’ concerns.
Lynch told reporters that the department is working closely with the school to investigate any accusations. “We don’t have much because they’re both open cases,” and added that the department can’t provide many details to the press. “Confidentiality is very important. When you deal with these cases, you have to deal with family, parents’ concerns, obviously the welfare of the child. There are a lot of considerations–plus working with the Board of Education and experts in that field.”
Lynch also confirmed that state law enforcement initially contacted the Wilton Police Department on the morning of June 11 prior to going to the preschool to inform Von Kohorn and school officials about the investigation.
According to the timeline of events, state police began investigating Von Kohorn’s internet activities in April 2014. The first time investigators notified both Von Kohorn and school officials of the investigation was on June 11; school officials put Von Kohorn on administrative leave that same day. Von Kohorn resigned from Wilton Public Schools on June 16. State Police arrested him on Aug. 20, at which point the school notified parents of the arrest and made public the information they new at that point.
“The chief talked to the superintendent at the time [Dr. Gary Richards] regarding the matter,” Lynch said.