Santa Rosa School District in Florida under fire over handling of Matthew McChesney investigation

Gulf Breeze parent Tara Kamm is speaking out in the wake of the arrest of recent Gulf Breeze High School graduate Matthew McChesney, who has plead not guilty to possessing, trading and sharing 23 counts of CSAM. 

The incident has shaken the whole community and Kamm wants to see parents take the passion they feel over the Santa Rosa County School District’s handling of McChesney and put it into action and implement changes. 

Kamm is in a position to know. 

Unfortunately, she’s had to deal with investigations of sex crimes involving children before, including her own daughter who former substitute teacher Richard Mack pleaded no contest to touching inappropriately in 2018.

Kamm is talking for the first time publicly about what the four victims and their families say happened after the 9-year-old Gulf Breeze Elementary students went to administrators for help when they say Mack touched them in the classroom. 

She and the other girls’ families filed and settled a lawsuit against the district, several years ago, for ignoring red flags that Mack had been blocked from teaching at several local schools before he was allowed to work at Gulf Breeze Elementary.

Kamm said Asst. Principal Kim McChesney, Matthew McChesney’s mother, dropped the ball from the moment the girls told her what happened including initially only reporting two victims instead of four, asking the girls to demonstrate how he touched them, and implying the girls were “prepped” to accuse him and “egged” him on. 

These allegations, the recent arrests in Gulf Breeze of more than one teacher for crimes involving sex and minors, and lackluster response some parents say they’ve seen from school district administrators have kicked the lid off of Pandora’s box. 

Join us for the latest episode of the Gulf Coast Confidential podcast “Santa Rosa School District under fire over handling of Matthew McChesney investigation.”