MONTGOMERY COUNTY — New documents show school districts knew about complaints before a former school bus driver was charged with dozens of sex crimes involving children.
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Prosecutors say Matthew Hunt had inappropriate relationships with current and former students at Northmont High School.
Late last month, Hunt was formally charged with over 80 sex-related charges, including 17 counts of rape and 64 counts of sexual battery.
Documents obtained by New Center 7’s I-Team are painting a picture of complaints against him, including documents from Eaton Community Schools.
“The current administration is not aware of what the hiring process for sub bus drivers was in 2009,” Scott Couch, Eaton Community Schools superintendent, told the I-Team on Thursday.
Couch also said the current administration “has no knowledge” of whether district leaders in 2009 knew of any concerns expressed about Hunt in the documents the I-Team now has.
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As first reported Wednesday night, a letter included in Hunt’s personnel file from Vandalia-Butler City Schools was among the documents providing new details. The letter, dated early March 2009, told Hunt about an upcoming pre-disciplinary hearing.
It details allegations he “participated in inappropriate conversations with students, including conversations that were sexually suggestive and that contained inappropriate language,” and that he “permitted inappropriate physical contact between students.”
As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Hunt’s personnel file shows that eight days later, he resigned from the district.
News Center 7 asked Vandalia-Butler City Schools whether any other school districts reached out to Vandalia-Butler City Schools to ask about Hunt before hiring him.
“We have one record of an employment verification request that was included in the personnel file,” Mary Stephens, PR and Communications Coordinator for Vandalia-Butler City Schools said. “None of our current administration were involved in or were knowledgeable of this situation that occurred sixteen years ago, so we cannot speak to what may or may not have been disclosed during Mr. Hunt’s job search. We simply do not know.”
Hunt’s personnel file from Eaton Community Schools includes a handwritten letter without a signature from July 2011.
In a section under a heading of “Matt Hunt” and following a bullet point marked “Vandalia Schools,” there’s a section written in third person that says at one point, “had a problem on the bus with a student who was suicidal. Student found Matt online and emailed him. Reported it to the appropriate folks - Union president reported to others that Matt was having a sexually explicit relationship with a fourteen-year-old boy.”
As the I-Team has reported, Hunt worked for no less than seven different school districts in the Miami Valley, most recently Northmont City Schools.
In May, police arrested Hunt on Northmont’s campus on a charge of sexual battery. Now, he faces more than 80 charges connected to allegations of the sexual abuse of underage boys and students.
The I-Team’s lead investigator, John Bedell, reached out to and spoke with Hunt’s defense lawyers on Thursday.
“Right now, we’re just working through the discovery process. We’ve entered a ‘not guilty’ plea and he’s presumed not guilty. He has a lot of support from family and friends,” his lawyers said in a statement.
Bedell also reached out to Northmont City Schools on Thursday and asked if the district had reached out to any other districts that Hunt had worked for previously to vet his background during its hiring process.
“Personnel have changed since the time of employment, so we have no record to confirm or deny‚” Tony Thomas, Northmont’s superintendent, said.
The district was also asked if they were aware of any of the behavioral concerns expressed about Hunt, documented in his personnel files when the district hired him.
Thomas said, “No.”
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