(LakeView Facebook Page)
Details were released in the investigation of LakeView High School Counselor Joseph Pitts, Jr (40) of Sturtevant, WI. According to a source, and later confirmed by KUSD spokesman Tanya Ruder, Joseph Pitts is on leave from his job as counselor at the high school.
The Kenosha Unified School District was made aware of allegations of misconduct on February 21, 2023, and an in-depth investigation was immediately launched. Pitts was placed on paid leave until the investigation concluded on March 20, 2023. Pitts was then moved to unpaid leave on March 21, 2023.
KCE learned that Pleasant Prairie Police was asked by the district to investigate if any criminal charges were warranted. According to the police report:
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the mother and father of “Jane Doe” came into LakeView High School Principal Bethany Ormseth’s office. They were there to notify the district that Pitts, Jr was having a romantic relationship with their daughter Jane, who had just turned 18. She graduated from the high school in June of 2022. Jane’s parents had learned that Jane was spending time at Pitts’ home in Sturtevant.
Jane’s mom started looking into the relationship between Pitts and Jane. She noticed on the phone bill that her daughter and Pitts would talk on the phone many times for hours when Jane was still 17 years old and a student at LakeView. The phone was Pitts’ personal cell phone. Jane’s mom confronted her about the relationship and she told her mom that she was in love with Pitts. Jane told her parents that the romantic relationship started when she turned 18, but her parents didn’t believe her. They think that Pitts “groomed” Jane. (Grooming is when someone builds a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit, and sexually abuse them.)
Pleasant Prairie investigators spoke with Pitts at LakeView High School. Pitts admitted to a current romantic relationship with Jane, but later said they were just “friends.” While Jane was a student, he said the two had a “unique thing” and “special bond” but denied any physical contact. He told investigators he never gave out his personal phone numbers to students, but did with Jane because of the “special bond.” He said he never planned on a romantic relationship, but it “just sort of happened” after she turned 18. He said they slept in the same bed, kissed, and touched each other’s genitals under the clothes, but didn’t admit to oral sex or intercourse.
Pitts and Jane exchanged letters at graduation that used the word “love” in them. Pitts told police their first time seeing each other outside of school was at a graduation party, and shortly thereafter, at Pitts’ home.
Police asked Pitts for consent to look through his phone and he declined. Police seized the phone but couldn’t go through it without a search warrant. Pitts gave conflicting stories during the interview. For example, he initially denied that Jane spent the night at his house in February, then said he didn’t remember, then said “yes.” Pitts was worried that people would think the relationship started when Jane was still a student but he said it wasn’t like that. Detective Hoffman asked Pitts if he really thought it was a good idea for a 40-year-old man to have a romantic relationship with a former student that just turned 18. Pitts went silent and never answered the question. Pitts said, “This isn’t what it seems like. Looking [back] at this back, I get how it sounds. It’s not. I never did anything with her until she was eighteen.” Pitts then stated, “It does not look good because we did talk a lot on the phone.” He then referred to
his phone and said, “And now, it’s going to look weird that, like there is no, everything is off of it, because I just recently was clearing all the stuff off of it.” Pitts was then asked when and if he had deleted anything off of his phone and he said “like today, cus the storage was all used up.”
Investigators consulted with DA Mike Graveley and ADA Drew Lehman and drafted a search warrant for the cell phone. Unfortunately, stopping the investigation in its tracks, and leading to the non-prosecution, Judge Jason Rossell refused to sign the search warrant, citing no probable cause.
Investigators spoke to Jane at the Pleasant Prairie Police Department. Jane was asked if she thought that Pitts was grooming her and she said, “During school? No. During the summer, like the month before I becuase an adult? I guess you could say that was special attention but at the same time, like…that’s a short period to groom someone.” Jane did admit to being at Pitt’s house while she was still a student. She saved his cell phone number into her phone as her cousin, so her parents wouldn’t know.
According to the report, KUSD is planning to “charge” Pitts with “texting students, grooming students of color, and switching absences for students.”
KCE doesn’t have any update on Pitts’ employment status.
61 Responses
What the hell is “grooming a person of color”? How is that different from grooming a white person? Why on earth would KUSD differentiate based on the student’s “color”? (Or could that be a police-report error?) Sidebar: Does the color of the alleged groomer matter in any way?
As far as the criminal law aspect, kudos to the judge for not signing a warrant. There doesn’t seem to be even an accusation of criminal activity, and certainly nothing more than mere suspicion based on what I’m reading here.
He’s known this student since they were a minor. That’s very weird considering he waited until the moment she turned 18.
My first question too
“Grooming students of color”? Is this more serious or a new woke KUSD term?
definitely woke–i guess grooming a person of color is worse than grooming a white person these days
A girl gets groomed and you’re first thought is how white people were affected because they said “person of color”? Grow up.
So by your stupid “liberal” logic, if the student wasn’t a “person of color”, it would have been OK then? Grow up.
Why would you assume it was a first thought? And why would you be so shallow as to think that it’s not allowable to multitask and be a offended and appalled by many different things from the same pathetic story? Race was brought up by the school leadership that for some bizarre reason had to separate grooming into colors. Do not mention the absurdity of that would be as silly as you are with a comment alleging that it is wrong to mention it at all.
I don’t know that I’m especially horrified considering she was close to being illegal adult, but refusing to sign the warrant was ridiculous. Do you honestly believe anyone who erases their phone information the minute the police want to look at it? Is it legal? I have no idea, but I know that it’s nothing you would believe if your child came home with a bike that you’d never seen before and a story like the one coming from this counselor. At this point I guess I leave it to the parents to decide what they feel is needed and if we have any legal basis to follow their train of thought. So far it looks like the law is able but not willing to investigate a possible crime
I wonder if the student gave permissions to police to search her phone? It doesn’t seem like it, as those contents should have been enough probable cause to obtain a warrant to search his phone.
That’s okay… yo yo will say the child is the one lying.
Another sick, pedo groomer exposed. KUSD would have just swept this one under the rug if it wasn’t for you Kevin.
He definitely gave out his phone number to students, many of my friends have it
Jimmy P got to skip town and now grooms in another state. This groomer will do the same. Illinois wants him.
who is Jimmy P?
The guy looks gay, opposed to being straight. Perhaps he swings both ways!
Anyways WTF is wrong with both of these people thinking it’s okay for a 40 year old and 18 year old to have a relationship! Perhaps she has Daddy issues and looking for a father figure to replace her own Dad. Why else would a student get involved with their teacher!! They are both sickos!!
And that judge needs to go!!!
Please have yourself checked for mental illness I beg you. This comment is impressively dumb, thanks!
oh my god
my mom said he looks like he doesn’t like white girls
Tyler here to share my thoughts,
what the fuck
J pezo was kinda zesty but this is gnarly
Laura, Laura, Laura….you couldn’t even find enough PC for a search warrant? I never had ANY SW refused in my time! Are you getting soft? Dig…dig…it it seems wrong, it is!
Deleting your physical phone texts and chats does not delete it from whatever server/app/cell provider records. The transmission data remains in tact if there were a search warrant granted.
So that’s what he was doing when he wouldn’t respond to my emails
I had the same issues. He definitely should not have a job there anymore.
crazy
Leonardo DeCaprio fan
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If your name is on the guest list
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Everybody says I’ve got
Great balls of fire
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bro it’s not true
Bro it’s not true istg
The dude is a good looking guy, no doubt he doesn’t have trouble attracting female attention. He succumbed to his physical desires, a very costly mistake in that he threw away his career, his reputation, and now the monetary and financial costs will begin. All men should take note of this and BEWARE, temptation is real and knowing this beforehand and evaluating what the potential costs of giving into temptation could be when you have a clear mind. I suspect he will be moving far, far away at the first opportunity.
Andy if you’re a pedo too just say so
“allegedly”
amateur pedo tbh ?
Pitts was my boo thang?
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Pitts ain’t do nothing wrong ong
I hope he knows hes betrayed the trust of so many girls that trusted him. hes ruined any kind of admiration hes built with the students at lakeview. disgusting.
Absolutely! I can’t believe this. I’m in shock and disgusted. I can’t believe this man knew my deepest thoughts.
It was probably Riley Stewart
aka MID-ley Stewart
he nutted in my booty
Mongrelizing your seed comes with trouble.
It’s true he was poking my butthole
i remember multiple students complained abt this guy and staff did nun ? karma for that lame ass school
Y’all tweaking on my momma i’m innocent
Facts bro he innocent tho fr
I wish Pitts touched me like that
This was posted by oliver carranza posing as deegan norris
No it wasn’t
Guys, I need some money. I’m trying to ask out my friend EDP445 to a date. I was thinking about getting some cupcakes for him but I don’t know what flavor he likes. Any suggestions?
ones baked with extra virgin olive oil
So when does he get promoted to principal and switched to another school?
bro molested a girl and these ugly smelly ass lakeview kids joking abt it ? hope r kelly get yall
I’m not justifying Pitts actions or saying he is in the right, I’ve known Pitts since freshman year. He is someone that most of us enjoyed at the school, now Jane was 17 at the time during school and him giving her his phone number is non excusable m now we certainly don’t know exactly why he gave her the phone number but if you think about it and why these other kids have his phone number aswell is because he’s a guidance counselor. again I am not excusing him, but maybe the children were going through things mentally or had things going on at home like being neglected or physically abused or maybe traumas??? Personally I don’t think that Pitts would have sexual relations before she was legal, yes I think her being over at his house before the legal age of consent is very odd I don’t think he would’ve done something so idiotic. I don’t know. this is just my view.
I promise you the older you get the more you’re going to realize how actually fucked up this behavior is.
Bruh
Mr Pitts was the imposter…
Mr Pitts was the imposter…