Parent says Pickerington High School North principal allowed sex offender on campus

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Pickerington Local School District hasn’t explained why Pickerington High School North principal Mark Ulbrich is under investigation since the district placed him on administrative leave Jan. 28, only saying that the investigation is the result of a complaint.

Ulbrich started working out of the district office earlier this month and still isn’t allowed back at his school while the investigation continues.

The parent who filed the complaint told NBC4 that Ulbrich allowed a sex offender to walk the halls of the school.

Three reports from the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office name the same Pickerington North student as the suspect in three sexual misconduct cases, each against a different child under the age of 9.

According to the reports, the first incident happened in June at a local swimming pool. The teen, 14 at the time, was charged with rape.

By the time of the second incident in August, the child was 15, according to court records. That incident allegedly took place outside a house where a party was being held. The teen was charged with gross sexual imposition.

A juvenile judge in Fairfield County found the teen delinquent on both charges.

According to a parent of the first victim, the judge initially ordered the teen not to come back to school in person, but in December allowed him to return in January, with the school’s consent.

Within days of the teen’s return, the third incident took place on a school bus and resulted in an importuning charge, according to the report.

The report lists Ulbrich as the person who reported the incident to the sheriff’s office, but the first victim’s parent said Ulbrich was the one who agreed to allow the offender back at school.

The parent sent the following statement to NBC4 Investigates:

“As parents and educators in our community, our primary responsibility is the safety of our children. That responsibility was severely neglected by a group of adults who are accountable for recent events.

“Our child was sexually assaulted by a teenager. As a result, we have taken several steps to ensure the safety of our child as well as the safety of all children in and around our community. While awaiting trial for rape, the parents … allowed the teenager unsupervised access to another young child just a couple months later resulting in a subsequent sexual assault.

“Following the first incident with our child and substantiation of our claim by the Department of Job and Family Services, we informed administrators at the teen’s school of our concerns regarding the teen returning to school. Despite attempts by our family to prohibit the teen from returning to in-person classes, the teen was permitted to resume. That decision resulted in another alleged incident involving a young child on a school bus continuing the devastating impact of child sexual abuse in our community. While there is an investigation currently being conducted, it is our understanding, based on direct conversations, that the decision to allow the teen to return to in-person classes was made without consulting or attaining permission from district officials.

“The juvenile sex offender has been adjudicated delinquent of Rape and Gross Sexual Imposition and is currently awaiting disposition. While by the grace of God our family continues to heal, we must insist that the adults responsible for ensuring the safety of all the children involved be held accountable for their negligence. We have made formal requests to each of the corresponding state entities for the removal of the adults from their respective positions of leadership.”

The importuning charge is still being adjudicated in juvenile court. Fairfield County Prosecuting Attorney R. Kyle Witt said an outside prosecutor is handling the case.

“Given that an outside prosecutor is now handling this matter, and the fact that the case is still pending in the trial court, I will not be issuing any further comment regarding the specifics of this case,” Witt said, in part, in an emailed statement. “I will, however, express my condolences to the victims and their families.”

The exact terms of the teen’s return to school are not clear. Because of his age, neither the juvenile court nor the school district would release that information.

A woman answering the phone at PLSD superintendent Dr. Chris Briggs’ office said the superintendent would not comment on what she called a personnel matter.

Because the offender is a child, NBC4 is not reporting his identity or the identity of anyone in his family. The incident reports, however, note that the teen’s father is an educator.