Recordpub.com - Charged Kent teacher was chaperone School officials: We were not informed

By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

A Kent teacher accused of soliciting sex from a young girl chaperoned a weekend field trip with middle school students after his first arrest on importuning charges.

Creston Police Department in Wayne County arrested Matthew T. Vogel, 30, of Akron, on May 26 after a detective posing online as a 14-year-old girl arranged a meeting with the Stanton Middle School teacher.

Police released Vogel after he traveled to meet the detective, but arrested him again on June 8 after a Wayne County grand jury indicted Vogel on three counts of importuning, all fifth-degree felonies.

One day after his initial release, Vogel served as a chaperone during a trip to Camp Asbury in Hiram Township on May 28 and 29 before the school year ended June 5.

Kent City Schools administrators have said they were unaware of Vogel’s initial arrest until after the Creston police contacted the district about the June 8 arrest.

Stanton Middle School Principal Tom Larkin said the field trip to Camp Asbury, which included at least five teacher chaperones and between 80 and 95 students, took place before the district knew about Vogel’s arrest.

Larkin called the timing of the field trip and Vogel’s arrest a horrible coincidence.

“The police in their investigation, they have no concerns about any inappropriate actions or communications between Stanton students and (Vogel),” Larkin said. “We have not had any students or parents contact us with any concerns of inappropriate communication or contact.”

Vogel pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this month in Wayne County Common Pleas Court, and a pre-trial in his case is set for July 22 in Wayne County.

At Stanton, Vogel worked as part of an interdisciplinary team, which is a group of several teachers who all teach language arts, social studies, math and science to seventh- and eighth-graders. In total, the team of teachers interacts with about 125 students.

The field trip to Hiram was one of several trips taken throughout the year and was meant to wrap up the end of this school year, Larkin said.

“And they work on things such as team building and leadership,” he said.

Camp Asbury is a non-profit, year-round camp and retreat center owned and operated by the East Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church, according to the camp’s Web site. During the school year, the camp hosts weekday and weekend retreats and events for religious congregations, schools, community organizations and community agencies.

Larkin did not know if Vogel is on paid administrative leave or probation, and Kent City Schools Superintendent Joe Giancola could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Larkin said. “In the classroom he did a fantastic job. But as we tell our young people, as you go through life we make mistakes and we make poor decisions. Part of life lessons are you’re held accountable for some of those bad decisions.”