I do have a personal story to share regarding pedo school administrators and I'll share it, to help keep this thread alive, because this is a worthy thread.

When I was in 4th grade, after coming in from recess during a winter month, my pants were soaking wet because I had been playing in the snow. My teacher sent me to the office so I could call my mom and have dry pants brought to me.

At the principal's office, I called my mom, but she did not answer the phone. The principal came out of his office and and after I told him why I was there, he told me to come into his office...and he closed the door.

He was a nice man (or so I thought, I was only a kid) and he said, "Now let's see how wet your pants are?" and he put his hands into my front pockets.

I just stood there, and I thought that was odd. Then he said something like, "Go ahead and take your pants off, and I'll put them on this heater so they dry quickly, and then you can go back to class."

Once again, I trusted men and it seemed no different to me than being in a locker room. And it made sense, because my wet pants were really uncomfortable. Like most kids of that era, I was wearing my tighty whitey underpants, and I felt a bit foolish standing there in the principals office, just waiting for my jeans to dry.

He didn't do anything else, but maybe that's because he did not have time. By some chance, a woman who was a close family friend and very active in the school showed up. Even the school officials feared her. The school secretary called the principal on his speaker phone to inform him she was there to see him. He suddenly said to me,

"Well, put your pants on I think they are dry now."

I took my pants, but they were not even close to dry, so I pulled them on and the principal told me that, "This was our secret, because he was trying to help me, but I shouldn't say anything because he didn't want us to get into trouble."

When I came out of his office, our family friend looked at me with that dissapointed and angry look. She said, "And what are you in trouble for?"

Boy, was I glad I could actually say, "Nothing."

So, why was I in the principal's office.

I just said my pants were wet, and I was standing in front of the heater to dry off."

She said, "I know where your mom is, I'll take you home."

Like I said earlier, everyone feared this woman for the incredible power she had in the school district.

To me, as a kid, I didn't think there was anything to all this. I had no idea what was happening....until that evening when the police showed up at my house.

And so did our family friend, and my parents were not surprised that the cops were at our door. We sat down together and I was instructed that it was very important to tell the truth. So I did.

I told the police it was no big deal, and it was my fault my pants were wet because I was rolling around in the snow wearing blue jeans. They didn't seem to care about that one bit. What they had many questions about was the principal putting his hands in my pockets. They did not even seem concerned that my pants were off so they could dry on the heater.

They wanted to know exactly how the principal's hands were put into my pockets. I remember the cop asking me if the principal, with his hands in my pockets, accidently touched my private parts. "I don't think so." I replied.

Needless to say, I'm writing this because I was very fortunate that nothing more happened, and I did not understand the full meaning of what happened until I was older.

For the principal, he just disappeared. The next day we were informed that we had a new substitute principal (a woman) and that was it. This woman ultimately became our full time principal, and years later after serving the school district in great capacity actually had the street in front of the school named after her.

Oddly, I always felt a little bit guilty about this as if it were my fault he got fired. I was so naive. It was years later I learned the full story, and this principal putting his hands down my pants to see if my pants were wet was actually a pedophile just trying to get his jollies on an innocent little boy. Now it seems so obvious because I know so much more. Back then, I did not even know what gay was. I had no idea.

So I write this lengthy story because the trust we put into adults who care for our children is so easily taken for granted. It could happen to anyone, because that is how predators hunt; for targets of opportunity.

And the other lesson is, we must have active and powerful parents in our schools who can and will suddenly drop by for spot inspections (so to speak) and keep these potential predators away.

Finally, I've never been molested and I'm still not sure if this situation counts as a molestation, but to the adults and police at that time (1980) it was a big deal. It just shows how easily a young, innocent boy who looks up to his male leadership can be a victim without actual sexual contact. And from what I've learned over the years by speaking with friends....I was lucky, because it could have ended up a whole lot worse. My case was actually all-to-common.