Valpo Substitute Teacher, Former M'ville Pastor Charged with Sex Abuse in Kentucky

nwi
May 31, 2014

http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/valpo-substitute-teacher-former-m-ville-pastor-charged-with-sex/article_5de1c16e-aa2a-5dfd-9f73-bcd04009a2b6.html

Allen L. Lehmann

A local substitute teacher and former minister was arrested Friday morning in Valparaiso on sex abuse charges filed in Louisville, Ky.

Allen L. Lehmann, 75, of Valparaiso, has been charged with seven counts of sexual abuse in the first degree with a victim younger than 12 and two counts of sodomy in the first degree with a victim younger than 12, said Dwight Mitchell, a public information officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Officials with the Jefferson County courts said the indictment was filed Thursday, and Lehmann is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Jefferson County, Ky.

Lehmann worked locally as a substitute teacher in the Duneland and East Porter County school corporations.

Duneland Superintendent David Pruis confirmed Friday that Lehmann had worked recently at Duneland schools and said no problems were reported regarding Lehmann's work in the schools.

East Porter Schools Superintendent Rod Gardin stated in an email Lehmann had worked in two of the district's schools.

"Sporadically, Mr. Lehmann has been a substitute teacher at Morgan Township Middle/High School and Washington Township Middle/High," Garden wrote. "No problems or concerns have been reported regarding Mr. Lehmann. He has not been a substitute teacher at any of our elementary schools or at Kouts Middle/High School.

"Substitute teachers are required to have a national criminal history background check, sex offender check, and sex offender registry check before being permitted to work. Mr. Lehmann's national criminal history background check, sex offender check, and sex offender registry check that was conducted on June 6, 2013, came back without any offenses or reportable records. In other words, his background checks were clean. Additionally, the same check had been conducted on July 13, 2010. No records were found at that time either."

Mitchell said Lehmann also had been a minister.

Doug Sheehy, senior associate pastor at Living Hope Church in Merrillville, said Lehmann served as pastor there from fall 2005 until August 2010, when he retired.

Louisville Metro police learned of the allegations in November 2013 about abuse alleged to have taken place from 1993 to 2000, he said.

He said the victims, three girls, were relatives of Lehmann and were about 6 to 7 years old when they were abused.

Mitchell said the case remains under investigation.