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Letter to parents says lewd behavior “unfounded”

Posted at 10:12 PM, Apr 24, 2012
and last updated 2012-04-25 07:06:11-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)--A letter sent home to parents of Blackwell Elementary School parents says based on preliminary findings an investigation into an incident in the school gym suggests allegations of lewd behavior are unfounded.

That’s much different than the story Jon Burkett's sources claim.

It involves grown men allegedly running around the gym, slathered in baby oil and adorned in nothing but a G-string the first night of Spring Break.

So what really happened inside the Blackwell Community Center and elementary school gymnasium?

Sources told CBS 6 Jon Burkett that Principal Daryl Roselle invited fraternity brothers over to the school.

Facebook pictures we found on the fraternity website place him and them in the gym on April 7.

“The way the building is situated, you can clearly walk up to the doors and see what's going on inside the gym," said Tracy Lamison, a school parent and community leader.

Parents are worried that in an area where kids are walking around at all hours, they could easily have looked in.

Richmond Public Schools Executive Director of Elementary Education Dr. Irene Williams sent the letter to parents Tuesday informing them of the investigation but suggesting there was no lewd activity.

“We as a community want only what's best for our children,” said Lamison.  “So anything that exposes them to something too adult in nature or too sexual, is not good."

Sources told Jon Burkett that  a security guard responding to a tripped alarm witnessed the men running around the gym, covered in oil and scantily clad.  And while school officials look into what they call “unauthorized use,”  Richmond Education Association President Angela Dews says this is not the first time Roselle’s name has been mentioned.

“We've had at least 10 to 12 complaints, “ said Dews.  “And that's an extremely conservative guess, with all of them prior to December."

Phone calls to 8th District School Board member Dawn Page to both her cell and home phones and messages sent by email were not returned Tuesday.

For previous reporting on this story, click here.

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