http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-mchenry-principal-webapr09,0,1730810.story
A McHenry County elementary school principal has been charged with having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl in a motel near Milwaukee, officials said Tuesday.
Daniel Markofsky, 47, of Richmond remained in custody Tuesday evening after police in Glendale, Wis., caught him in a motel room with two teenage sisters over the weekend, police said. The girls are 15 and 16.
Markofsky took over last fall as principal of Spring Grove School in Nippersink District 2.
School Supt. Dan Oest said Markofsky did not report to school Monday or Tuesday and has been suspended with pay.
"We're aware that he's been arrested," Oest said. "We have not talked to him, and we have not yet talked to Glendale police."
A closed-door school board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Nippersink School in Richmond.
"We have to do the fact-finding," he said.
Oest said Markofsky passed a background check before he was hired as principal. He said there have been no complaints about him in his first year on the job. Spring Grove has about 410 pupils in kindergarten to 5th grade. The district serves parts of McHenry and Lake Counties.
Amy Burghardt, who has a daughter in the 4th grade at Spring Grove, said she is shocked by the allegations and feels sorry for Markofsky and his family.
He was well-liked by students and has been a "very fun-loving, upbeat principal," she said.
"Everyone needs to be most concerned about the kids and the way this is presented to them," she said. "I'm telling my daughter that no one knows yet what is true and what isn't true."
The teenage sisters are from the Milwaukee area, Glendale police said. The 16-year-old met Markofsky through a telephone chat line, police said.
Markofsky, of the 5700 block of Broadway Street, has been charged with performing oral sex on the 16-year-old and exposing the girls to pornographic material, Glendale police said.
Glendale Police Officer Joel Dhein said he was uncertain when Markofsky and the 16-year-old began chatting. The complaint said Markofsky exchanged private phone numbers with her and that they spoke "about twice a week."
He had taken her once before to the Super 8 Motel in Glendale, according to a police report.
A Glendale police officer knocked on the door of the motel room early Saturday after smelling marijuana, according to the report. The report said Markofsky answered wearing a shirt and boxer shorts.
The two teens were in the room with him, and the officer noticed that a pornographic movie was playing, according to the report.
The sisters told police they had wanted to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks," but that Markofsky put on pornography instead, the report said.
A McHenry County elementary school principal has been charged with having sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl in a motel near Milwaukee, officials said Tuesday.
Daniel Markofsky, 47, of Richmond remained in custody Tuesday evening after police in Glendale, Wis., caught him in a motel room with two teenage sisters over the weekend, police said. The girls are 15 and 16.
Markofsky took over last fall as principal of Spring Grove School in Nippersink District 2.
School Supt. Dan Oest said Markofsky did not report to school Monday or Tuesday and has been suspended with pay.
"We're aware that he's been arrested," Oest said. "We have not talked to him, and we have not yet talked to Glendale police."
A closed-door school board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Nippersink School in Richmond.
"We have to do the fact-finding," he said.
Oest said Markofsky passed a background check before he was hired as principal. He said there have been no complaints about him in his first year on the job. Spring Grove has about 410 pupils in kindergarten to 5th grade. The district serves parts of McHenry and Lake Counties.
Amy Burghardt, who has a daughter in the 4th grade at Spring Grove, said she is shocked by the allegations and feels sorry for Markofsky and his family.
He was well-liked by students and has been a "very fun-loving, upbeat principal," she said.
"Everyone needs to be most concerned about the kids and the way this is presented to them," she said. "I'm telling my daughter that no one knows yet what is true and what isn't true."
The teenage sisters are from the Milwaukee area, Glendale police said. The 16-year-old met Markofsky through a telephone chat line, police said.
Markofsky, of the 5700 block of Broadway Street, has been charged with performing oral sex on the 16-year-old and exposing the girls to pornographic material, Glendale police said.
Glendale Police Officer Joel Dhein said he was uncertain when Markofsky and the 16-year-old began chatting. The complaint said Markofsky exchanged private phone numbers with her and that they spoke "about twice a week."
He had taken her once before to the Super 8 Motel in Glendale, according to a police report.
A Glendale police officer knocked on the door of the motel room early Saturday after smelling marijuana, according to the report. The report said Markofsky answered wearing a shirt and boxer shorts.
The two teens were in the room with him, and the officer noticed that a pornographic movie was playing, according to the report.
The sisters told police they had wanted to watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks," but that Markofsky put on pornography instead, the report said.
