Text messages show school board's reaction to president appearing in child sex sting video

Less than an hour before Goshen school board president John Gray appeared in a child sex sting video online, board member Deborah Gray texted the superintendent.

"I just got a disturbing email sent to my GLSD email referencing the name of a board member," she wrote. "Should I forward to you?"

"Yes," superintendent Darrell Edwards replied.

"I feel like it is fake," Deborah Gray texted.

Edwards texted another board member, Bill Herrera, at 10 p.m. Saturday asking if he also got emails about the president.

Herrera texted back that he had but didn't open the emails.

"Think there is some serious hacking going on!" Herrera wrote, and texted Edwards a screenshot of his email inbox with subject lines reading "Your John?" and "Get your President he's a Child Predator."

"Looks like an email bot/phishing/malware??" Herrera replied.

On Monday, Edwards confirmed to The Enquirer that the man in the video, who says he would like to participate in sexual activities with a person whom he believed to be an 11-year-old girl, was the former school board president. John Gray resigned from his position on Sunday. The video shows Gray talking to and in the custody of police in Farmland, Indiana, a village in Randolph County with 1,000 people about 100 miles northwest of Goshen.

The video was posted by Predator Catchers Muncie, a child-predator sting group. Members of the group pose as children online and chat with people in an attempt to identify child predators. They often schedule "meet-ups" and stream videos of the encounters online.

Text messages obtained by The Enquirer through an Ohio Public Records Act request show board members' discussion about the video before and after Gray's resignation.

'I was shaking.'

At the time the video was posted Saturday evening, John Gray was serving his fifth term on the school board. Before he resigned Sunday, Deborah Gray, who is not related to the former board president, texted superintendent Edwards again. She wrote if the president did not resign "in the next 12 hours," the board should take action to remove him.

"I can't sleep on this and am completely sick," Deborah Gray texted Edwards at 1:20 a.m. Sunday.

On Monday, Herrera texted board member Julie Casey that a local TV station had come to his home. He wrote he saw a camera crew through his Ring camera and asked if Casey also had reporters at her door.

"Ugh no, not that I know of but we aren't home," Casey texted back. "Seriously, we know nothing!"

Herrera replied: "If he's not charged or convicted of anything, he could possibly sue us if we said anything at all! How messed up is that?!?"

Casey: "It is crazy. But I think he has way bigger problems to worry about. I hope."

Herrera: "Me too. I just pray that he hadn't had contact with any children previously. I've never been so angry or disgusted in my entire life!"

Casey: "I was shaking Saturday when I saw it and yesterday turned downright angry. I am glad he resigned but even that seems to be having backlash with the people. I feel we are damned if we do and damned if we don't right now. We are not him ... and we need to be treated as such. We are just as stunned and angry as everyone else! I hope no one else comes out but I think we need to be prepared for it, sadly."

The records obtained by The Enquirer also show Edwards texted John Gray after the video was posted, sending a link to the video and asking for Gray to call him. Gray did not respond.

Investigation continues in Indiana

Randolph County sheriff's Capt. Tom Pullins said the department is investigating Gray after the incident in Indiana.

Pullins would not give any further details about the investigation on Thursday.

Edwards sent a message to district families stating Goshen school leaders will be consulting with legal counsel and will share more information as it becomes available.

The Enquirer reached out to Edwards on Thursday for an update on the investigation and received no response.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Goshen school board members text about president John Gray incident