FORMER PRINCETON WRESTLING COACH, SCHOOL STAFFER INDICTED ON SEX CRIMES AGAINST KIDS TURNS HIMSELF IN

January 30, 2020
Cameron Knight, Max Londberg, Madeline Mitchell
Cincinnati

A former Princeton City School wrestling coach and security monitor has been accused of sex crimes involved male children all under the age of 14, prosecutors say.

Lamont Baldwin, 54, has been indicted on 12 counts of felony gross sexual imposition. If convicted, he faces up to 50 years in prison.

“These cases are disturbing and I will never understand people who sexually abuse children,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said in a statement.

“Parents expect that school is a safe place and school employees betraying that trust hurt not just the victim but the entire family, school system and community.”

Prosecutors said the offenses took place on and off school grounds.

Princeton Superintendent Tom Burton sent a letter to parents in October regarding the issue, but without naming Baldwin.

“Following recent allegations of misconduct, the Princeton City School District placed a …staff member on administrative leave and contacted local law enforcement.”

Burton went on to add the district was conducting its own internal investigation.

“We take all allegations very seriously, and we hold everyone accountable to the code of conduct,” Burton wrote.

According to the indictment, the allegations date to 2014, with the most recent incident in June 2017.

Baldwin was employed as a security monitor for Princeton Schools and assigned to the middle and high school from April 15, 1996, until he was terminated in mid-November, according to the prosecutor’s office.

He spent a “short period of time” working as a middle-school wrestling coach, the release stated, though it does not give an exact timeframe.

“His security monitoring job responsibilities included monitoring the hallways, cafeteria and arrival and dismissal of students,” the release said.

Burton also sent a message to parents and guardians on Thursday, stating student safety and well-being are top priorities.

“To ensure our students are receiving mental health support, the district will continue to offer counseling and therapeutic services," Burton wrote. “We have been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and legal authorities in the investigation.”

Baldwin has no prior criminal record in Hamilton County.

The Sharonville Police Department opened an investigation in late 2019 after students reported incidents to school officials.

Baldwin turned himself in at Cincinnati Police district 1 headquarters Thursday night.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/01/30/former-princeton-wrestling-coach-indicted-sex-crimes-against-kids/2855372001/

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