Ex-Lake Forest High Staff Member Benjamin M. Davidson Accused Of Criminal Sexual Assault, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Abuse & Child Pornography

June 7, 2013


Benjamin M. Davidson has been charged with criminal sexual assault, child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse.

A former Lake Forest High School theater manager has been charged with multiple sex crimes after authorities said he had inappropriate relationships with two students under the age of 18.

Benjamin M. Davidson, 30, of North Chicago, is charged with criminal sexual assault, child pornography and aggravated criminal sexual abuse, authorities said, stemming from alleged conduct that took place from December 2010 to January of this year.

According to authorities and court records, Davidson is accused of having sexual contact with two separate female students. He is also accused of taking a photograph of himself engaged in a sex act with one of the students and of possessing another inappropriate image of the girl.

Lake Forest police said they launched an investigation in March after school officials received a complaint from the parent of a student. Police said Davidson immediately resigned when school officials spoke to him about the complaint.

Over their three-month investigation, police said they analyzed texts, emails, videos and photographs from “a variety of digital sources.”

“These records indicate a consistent pattern of Davidson engaging in inappropriate and explicit text conversations of a sexual nature with students. In some cases, he describes sex acts he completed with these students,” the police press release said.

Davidson was taken into custody today, officials said.

Lake Forest High School officials released a statement saying, in part: “Student safety is our first priority, and we take any such allegations very seriously.”

The school also said that, in accordance with its policy, “an independent investigator with criminal law experience” is reviewing the matter.

This is the second time in recent years that a Lake Forest school official has resigned over alleged misconduct that included inappropriate texting.

In late 2011, Deer Path Middle School principal John Steinert resigned after the Tribune revealed that he had pleaded guilty in 2009 to misdemeanor electronic harassment stemming from unwanted lewd texts he sent to a woman he had met while she was a college intern with the city of Lake Forest.
Steinert story posted below

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March 5, 2012

City of Lake Forest employees will be provided with updated anti-harassment training as the result of an independent investigation into allegations that a Lake Forest police officer engaged in an inappropriate conversation with a college student intern, the mayor announced Monday.

The Council reviewed the investigation findings in closed session before issuing a public statement during Monday's board meeting, read aloud by Mayor James Cowhey Jr.

The Council hired private attorney Leigh Jeter in early December to review allegations contained within a 2009 Gurnee police report filed in the arrest of John Steinert, former principal of Lake Forest’s Deer Path Middle School.

According to police records, Steinert admitted he used a district-issued cellphone to send sexually explicit texts and a photograph of his penis to a Lake Forest College student in 2008 and early 2009 even after she ignored them or told him to stop.

The woman, then 22, was serving an internship with the Lake Forest Police Department. During part of the internship, she shadowed the school resource officer, who was stationed at Deer Path in spring 2008. School resource officers are stationed at middle and high schools to assist school administrators in handling disciplinary matters.

The former intern told Gurnee police that the Lake Forest officer made inappropriate sexual remarks to her during one meeting at the school, “asking her about what kinds of guys she likes, pornography and sex toys."

The victim "advised she became uncomfortable and began talking about something else,” the police report said.

"The City Council is satisfied with Ms. Jeter's thorough investigation of this matter and is taking proactive measures to fortify the City's anti-harassment training," Cowhey said.

Steinert resigned his job in November after the Tribune published information about his conviction for misdemeanor electronic harassment.

The officer was not charged.

In a letter to the City Council, Jeter concluded that the police officer made comments to the former intern that violate city and police policies, including those that concern workplace harassment. She recommended that the officer "be counseled, warned, and disciplined for his misconduct."

She also recommended that the city provide additional training to the officer and other members of the police department, and that the city review and revise policies to prevent future misconduct.

Because of the time that has passed since the events took place, she wrote, she did not recommend discipline that rises to the level of suspension or termination of the employee.

Lake Forest School District 67 suspended its school resource program at Deer Path and removed the officer from the school in the wake of controversy last fall.

The City Council plans to review the school resource officer program with the newly incoming superintendent for Lake Forest School District 67 later this summer, Cowhey said.

The Council will also inform Lake Forest College officials about the steps being taken to safeguard students participating in its internship programs, he said.

In November, Gurnee’s police chief recalled informing Lake Forest police Chief Joseph Buerger in early 2009 that the Lake Forest officer was mentioned in the report but emphasized he was not the target of the investigation.

Lake Forest police did not investigate the resource officer's conduct in 2009, according to a department spokesman.

"I want to strongly reiterate our commitment to working with any and all outside agencies on questionable conduct or inappropriate behavior by individuals working for or interacting with our citizens," Cowhey said.

Jeter of Clark Baird Smith LLP has experience conducting workplace investigations involving harassment or discrimination complaints.

"The City has established extremely high standards for its employees that place heavy emphasis on the core values of integrity, respect, trust and excellence," according to City Manager Bob Kiely, quoted in a statement released during a board meeting. "Deviance from these values is not taken lightly."

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