TSC special ed aide accused of molesting a teenage boy

Ron Wilkins | Journal & Courier

LAFAYETTE — An inappropriate email sent by Klondike Elementary School special ed aide Jennifer Holmgren to a male student at another school resulted in her termination and arrest, according to Tippecanoe School Corp. and the sheriff's office.

"Law enforcement was notified immediately when school officials became aware of a suspicious email between Jennifer Holmgren ... and a student at another school," Tippecanoe School Corp. spokeswoman Sue Scott wrote Friday in a prepared statement.

"As a result of an internal investigation, Holmgren is no longer employed by the Tippecanoe School Corp.," Scott said.

"The investigation began Friday evening, Nov. 1," Scott wrote. "Holmgren was terminated Sunday."

Tippecanoe County sheriff's deputies arrested Holmgren, 40, of the 3100 block of Pheasant Run in Lafayette, Friday afternoon at the sheriff's office after detectives interviewed her, Tippecanoe County sheriff's Capt. John "Woody" Ricks said.

Holmgren met the boy, who police said is a teenager, during her six years of employment at the school, Ricks said, but the boy is not a currently a student at Klondike Elementary.

She met the boy several times, and none of the contact was on school property, Ricks said. During the summer, she had sexual intercourse with the boy once in the West Lafayette Walmart parking lot, Ricks said. Detectives are investigating other possible contacts she had with the boy, Ricks said.

The email the school became aware of was between Holmgren and the boy. It included explicit recollections of earlier encounters and plans for future rendezvous, Ricks said when asked about the factual circumstances of the allegations.

Deputies booked in her into jail about 2:15 p.m. Friday on preliminary charges of child molesting and child solicitation, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

She remained incarcerated at the jail Friday evening without bond.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

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