UPDATE: 3 FELONY CHARGES FOR A ROCKWOOD ORCHESTRA TEACHER WHO WENT ON LEAVE JUST TWO WEEKS AGO. AND, HEAR FROM A MOM OF HIS STUDENTS.

"It's all very concerning. To think that three of my children have been exposed to him makes my stomach upset."

That mom says her oldest child had Joseph Gutowski as a teacher during the time he's accused of sexually exploiting another teenage girl who also attended Lafayette High School. That was during the 2019-2020 school year. Additional detail below.

Two more of her children have had him as a teacher this school year.

Communication about Gutowski to parents has caused some confusion and concern.

Rockwood's superintendent, Dr. Curtis Cain, sent an email Tuesday, 12/20, that said a "former" teacher had been criminally charged. 

Parents thought that meant Gutowski hadn't worked for the district for a while. But, he was still the orchestra teacher as recently as two weeks earlier, as shown in an email sent from Lafayette's principal. It announced Gutowski was taking an unexpected leave of absence starting December 5th of this year, a Monday. 

Case.net shows the 3 charges, all felonies, were in the court system the Wednesday before that, on November 30th.

THREE WEEKS

What happened between the charges listed on 11/30, the leave of absence starting 12/5 and the announcement to parents of the charges on 12/20? 

It's not clear. Cain's letter says they learned of the charges on the 20th, the same date case.net shows Gutowski was first in court.

This is what that Lafayette mom says had been happening at school:

"I'm not sure when his last day was, but, there was about a week or two before that (the leave of absence) where my kids were coming home saying that he was really messed up and talking about his personal life with fiance' and such and worst day of his life. I felt he was sharing too much information with them and they also mentioned they were getting "free time" in class which was abnormal."

"As a parent of one graduating from the orchestra program this past year, and two kids currently in the program, it is very disturbing. Even more disturbing was that rumors have been flying about these charges but Rockwood stated 'they were not at liberty to discuss details behind his leave.' We have been told nothing for about a month. Meanwhile, again, our kids education is negatively impacted."

CHARGES ARE FROM THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR

Dr. Cain's email also states there's no indication that the charges are related to any current students. It does not say that the charges do relate to a girl who WAS a student at that time: the exchange student who lived with Gutowski and his family.

WHAT'S ALLEGED 

Authorities have said Gutowski set up a recording device in his home and captured private, inappropriate videos of the girl, who was 16 years old. He reportedly has admitted sharing said video with others.

MORE ABOUT HER STAY

Some details of the alleged victim's stay with Gutowski appeared in the student newspaper at Lafayette, back in April of 2020. Gutowski is quoted in the article, talking about the girl's strong bond with his young son.

It is not known whether he had yet shared any video of her.

Also in the article, Gutowski says he made himself available for all the foreign exchange students at Lafayette, so they'd have someone to talk to. At the time the article was written, the students were going back to their home countries sooner than expected, because of Covid.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR?

Gutowski's Facebook page is still up. It shows a picture of him holding a certificate that says he's a finalist for teacher of the year at Lafayette during the 2020-2021 school year. The photo is dated Jan 11, 2021, months after he allegedly sexually exploited the teenager, and a year before he was criminally charged and put on a leave of absence.

Other photos show him performing in orchestra concerts.

Gutowski's bond has been set at $250,000.00.

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This post has been edited to clarify that, although case.net shows felony charges with a date of 11/30, Gutowski had his first court hearing on 12/20. That's the day Dr. Cain said in his letter that police told him Gutowski was criminally charged. 

Because the alleged victim was attending a Rockwood school at the time of the allegations (as recently as 2020), parents want to know what Rockwood knew, when. 

Case.net now shows three criminal charges against the teacher, Joseph Gutowski, who was working at Lafayette High School, with students, this semester.

The charges, all felonies, are: sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of child pornography, and, promoting child pornography.

News reports have stated Gutowski set up a recording device and captured videos of a 16 year old girl who was staying in his home as an exchange student.