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Janitor allegedly stalked studentsFeb 27, 2010 (The Record-Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- TRAVERSE CITY -- A local school janitor faces felony charges after police said he solicited naked images of a student over the Internet, then repeatedly stalked the student and his girlfriend. Walter Edward "Wally" Lucas, 40, of Traverse City, is charged with a single count of using computers to commit a crime, five counts of child sexually abusive activity and one count of stalking a minor. Traverse City Area Public Schools placed Lucas, a janitor with the district since 1997, on unpaid suspension Feb. 18. He was arrested Friday and is expected to be arraigned Monday. The charges are related to Lucas' alleged Internet conversations with a male, 16. The conversations began in the fall of 2008, when the youth was a student at Central High School. Police said Lucas pretended to be a teenage female. The conversations grew sexual in nature, and the youth sent Lucas multiple nude videos and pictures of himself over several months, investigators said. Once the teen began dating a fellow Central student, he ended contact with Lucas' online persona, court records show. His girlfriend's family then began receiving dozens of harassing phone calls. The person on the other end would swear and hang up, or demand that the girl "stay the f--- away" from the male teen. Lucas allegedly used a service that blocked caller ID numbers and modified the callers' voice, police said. Meanwhile, the teens began seeing Lucas "everywhere," according to a police report. They recognized him as a janitor from Central, but the male teen didn't realize Lucas was the person he'd been communicating with online. Investigators said Lucas followed the couple around a local mall in November, and he was spotted driving by the girl's home on multiple occasions last fall. He followed the male teen into the bathroom at Target in February, reports indicate. Lucas had the male teen's number, and called or sent text messages to him as many as 50 times a day, police reports indicate. He threatened to harm the youth's girlfriend if he didn't break up with her. The girl's mother finally contacted police, and the investigation led to Lucas. Investigators searched his computer and said they found two nude videos of the male teen, and several photos of him posing nude. Both students are no longer at TCAPS, Human Resources Director Christine Davis said, adding that Lucas alleged conduct was "inappropriate." Lucas' attorney, Traverse City-based Clarence Gomery, was in court Friday afternoon and couldn't be reached for comment. To see more of The Record-Eagle or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.record-eagle.com/. Copyright (c) 2010, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |