A school district safety supervisor in Wichita, Kansas was arrested on Wednesday and charged with multiple counts of unlawful sexual contact with minors in his care.
Alex Robinson, a former Kansas police officer whom George W. Bush honored with a President’s Volunteer Service Award for his work with the Boys and Girls Club, is alleged to have molested three boys between the ages of 11 and 14. He has been charged with two counts of criminal sodomy, three counts of aggravated indecent liberties, one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and two counts of indecent liberties with a child.
As Safety Supervisor for Wichita public schools, Robinson’s responsibilities included building oversight and the training and management of district-level school security officers. When news of the charges broke, he was placed on paid leave from his $75,790 position with the state.
Robinson was also asked to resign from the board of Real Men, Real Heroes, a non-profit organization that aids at-risk youths.
The organization’s president, Buddy Shannon, told The Wichita Eagle that “[w]e’re not presuming his innocence or his guilt, but due to the serious nature of the allegations, the board acted on asking for his resignation. He was shocked that we asked for it, and I can understand why. We’re not accusing or excusing Alex of the charges. We don’t know what happened.”
Robinson’s attorney, Kurt Kerns, insists that his client is innocent. “Anyone can throw disgusting accusations,” Kerns said in an email. “The sad fact is that these type of accusations are like acid. They burn and injure the moment they make contact, regardless of a good man’s innocence.”
The contact supposedly happened over a decade ago, beyond the five-year statute-of-limitations for child abuse cases, however, Captain Brent Allred of the Wichita Police Department told The Wichita Eagle that Kansas law allows those limitations to be circumvented if two of the following three criteria are met: the victim was under 15; lacked the intelligence required to understand a crime had been committed; repressed memories of the crime having been committed; or a parent or legal guardian prevented the victim from reporting the crime.
Prosecutors with the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office believe they “have met two or three” of those criteria with the three boys Robinson is accused of having molested.
Watch a report on Robinson’s initial arrest via KAKA.