Longmeadow High School.
Reminder Publishing file photo
LONGMEADOW — The arrest of a middle school librarian charged with distribution of child sex abuse materials has led the Longmeadow community to express concern and outrage.
Holyoke resident Scott McGinley, the librarian at Williams and Glenbrook middle schools, was arrested on Aug. 13 after turning himself in. The FBI Nashville Division began investigating McGinley in July after undercover law enforcement allegedly found McGinley in an encrypted online messenger app group named “Little boyz only” discussing his sexual preference for “boys age 2-12” and “especially 4-7,” according to information released by the federal Department of Justice. Law enforcement also alleged that McGinley made graphic sexual comments about “students” who were “11-14 years old” and that he “ha[d]n’t touched them sexually,” but sat “hot boys strategically so [he could] see under their desks, and close to [him].”
According to the criminal complaint filed by a special agent with the FBI Boston Division, McGinley transmitted a video depicting child sexual abuse, which led the FBI in Nashville, Tennessee, to contact their colleagues in the Springfield Resident Agency, part of the Boston field office, on Aug. 7. The next day, a search of McGinley’s home and person allegedly uncovered more than 100 pieces of child sex abuse material on his phone and a locked case containing items, including boys’ underwear, bedding, a Santa Claus costume, diapers, diaper cream and applesauce packets. The FBI was assisted in its investigation by the Longmeadow and Holyoke police.
McGinley had worked in Longmeadow Public Schools since 2016. Prior to that, he worked in the Springfield Public Schools twice. From 2001 to 2005, he taught pre-K and kindergarten at the Zanetti Montessori Magnet School. After four years teaching kindergarten at Mark’s Meadow Elementary School in Amherst, he returned to Springfield Public Schools in 2009, teaching at the Elias Brookings School for two years. McGinley was a librarian and intervention teacher at Washington Elementary School beginning in 2011 and later became the High School of Science and Technology librarian, a position he occupied for three years before being hired in Longmeadow.
Reminder Publishing reached out to Springfield Public Schools and the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District for comment. While the latter did not respond by press time, Springfield Public Schools Chief Communication Officer Azell Cavaana said the School Department learned about the charges against McGinley from media reports. Beyond that, she said, the department does not comment on matters pertaining to current or former personnel.
Longmeadow Public Schools Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea released a statement to the community on Aug. 13, informed the community of the “highly troubling and disturbing criminal matter” described in a press release by the United States Attorney General’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. O’Shea said in the statement that he had shared all information available to him and emphasized that the School Department was fully cooperating with law enforcement and the state Department of Children and Families. McGinley submitted a letter of resignation before the School Department was able to execute plans for termination.
Acknowledging the need for more conversation around this issue, the School Department hosted an Aug. 14 public forum including members of local, county and federal law enforcement, to answer questions when possible and listen to concerns from the public. About 100 people came to the meeting at Longmeadow High School. O’Shea said that there will be clinicians available for students to speak with on Aug. 20. Resources are also being made available to staff.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Specialist Lauryn Mackey emphasized that there is “no indication that any child that attends [Longmeadow schools] was ever harmed.” Eileen Sears, chief of the Special Victims Unit for the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, added, “If your child expresses that something happened with this individual, call the Longmeadow police.” She said an interview will be set up with the child and that there are therapeutic services available.
“We have to talk to our kids,” Mackey said. Referring to a child safety campaign from the 1980s and 1990s, she said, “It’s not ‘Stranger Danger’ anymore. It’s not the person in the corner of the playground in a trench coat. It’s the person on the other side of the screen.”
Mackey said McGinley, who McGinley appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine A. Robertson on Aug. 13, was released with “very, very strict conditions,” including that he wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor at all times, have no access to the internet and not “frequent or loiter” anywhere near minors. She later explained this includes schools, playgrounds, libraries, parks or fast-food restaurants. When asked if McGinley is allowed to be in Longmeadow, Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Merck, said there is no blanket prohibition on being in town, but to contact Longmeadow police if someone sees him and is concerned.
A parent asked why McGinley was not charged for possessing child sexual abuse images on his phone. Merck said her office prosecutes federal crimes. Law enforcement moved quickly to charge McGinley with distribution of materials and arrest him. Other charges can be added later.
Kimberly Milka, the Boston FBI assistant special agent in charge, explained that the images on McGinley’s phone had been flagged by computer software as potentially containing abuse, but that law enforcement must still review every photo. The photos are then sent through a law enforcement program that determines if they depict a real person, as opposed to an artificially generated image, and matches them to any known victims. If any of the photos are found to depict a Longmeadow student, the family will be notified privately. Milka said her office will also pursue any crimes committed under Massachusetts law.
“We want to make sure this guy goes to prison for as long as possible,” Milka said.
Several people said it was “widely discussed” among students that McGinley was “creepy.” One parent said there was a “school culture of hiding things under the rug,” another said McGinley “had been warned” about his behavior and a third asked if the School Department had a file detailing his behavior. O’Shea confirmed that the administration keeps files on employee disciplinary issues.
O’Shea explained that all employees are subject to criminal records and background checks at the time of hire and other checks are run every few years. Previous employers are contacted and, as mandated reporters, are legally required to disclose illegal or abusing conduct. He also said a review of the employees’ social media activity is conducted.
O’Shea said the School Department intends to hire an independent consultant to review McGinley’s time in Longmeadow, their processes for complaints and “hold ourselves accountable for anything we may have missed.”
Milka said people often ask themselves how abusive behavior goes unnoticed. She said the first case she worked involved a law enforcement colleague’s father who was engaging in child sexual abuse material. She said, “The internet is a vast environment.”
Some people asked about McGinley’s role as the advisor for the middle school LGBTQ+ club, with one person calling it “predatory.” Others mentioned an incident a few years ago in which middle school students found McGinley’s account on the dating app Grindr, which caters to LGBTQ+ individuals. A parent said a student who was circulating the information was punished, but McGinley was not. O’Shea said, “You don’t know that.”
In a moment that highlighted the tense emotions in the room, a brief shouting match erupted between community members when a person again asked about the Grindr incident and described McGinley as “creepy.” A fellow parent yelled, “It’s not illegal to be a creep. It’s not illegal to be gay.” After a brief back and forth, one of the parties left the auditorium.
A person appealed to the others in the room, asking them to work together. He said the School Department “clearly” missed signs, but added, “You’re kidding yourselves if you think this is the only example of this in our community.”
Mackey said the community can expect the case to take a year or more to prosecute. If convicted, McGinley would face imprisonment for between five and 20 years, at least five years of supervised release and up to $250,000 in fines.
She urged people with concerns, questions or information to contact her at 617-748-3274 or email USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.
