INDIANAPOLIS -- Park Tudor has reached a deal with the U.S. Attorney's Office to avoid prosecution for alleged efforts by its former headmaster to hide evidence during the Kyle Cox investigation.
Cox is now serving 14 years in prison for having an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old Park Tudor student while he was employed as the school's head basketball coach. Prosecutors accused of him of exchanging explicit photos with the student and attempting to coerce the student into further sexual activity.
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On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office released a deferred prosecution agreement in which the school agreed to probation and acknowledged that actions by former head of school Dr. Matthew D. Miller likely would have left Part Tudor subject to prosecution for misprision of a felony – or deliberately concealing knowledge and evidence of a felonious act.
According to the deferred prosecution agreement, Miller knew about the explicit images shared between Cox and the student, and in fact had been presented with them and knew the school's outside council had possession of them.
Instead of presenting that evidence to police, Miller reportedly led investigators to believe the school had no information about photos being exchanged between Cox and the student. Miller also reportedly turned the laptop containing those images over to the student's parents, rather than to law enforcement.
Miller was found dead in January of this year. His death was ruled a suicide.
Miller's actions would, potentially, leave Park Tudor open to federal prosecution. In lieu of that, however, federal prosecutors and the school have agreed to a probationary period running until March 15, 2018. During that time the school will be required to continue cooperating fully with the U.S. Attorney's Office and to continue revamping its policies on reporting child abuse.
The agreement notes that since Cox's arrest, the school has retained former U.S. Attorney John D. Tinder to led a comprehensive review and improvement of all its policies and procedures dealing with child abuse and neglect prevention.
The school has also trained all faculty and staff in programs presented by Prevent Child Abuse Indiana.
If the probationary period elapses without incident, the U.S. Attorney's Office agrees to drop any future prosecution against Park Tudor in connection to the former headmaster's alleged actions in this case.
