Elementary School Principal Convicted on 46 Counts

Kirk Ashton convicted of child sexual abuse

 The saga of Kirk Ashton, a married father of three grown children, and his vile and unimaginable criminal acts against these little boys could have started twenty plus years prior to his indictment and conviction. It is beyond revolting. It could have been prevented. People who were mandated reporters did not follow through with what they were legally supposed to do. Imagine for just a minute, you come home to your family from a long day at work, you prepare dinner and get the kids cleaned up and ready for bed, you sit down to watch the evening news and you hear that your little one’s principal had been put on Administrative leave (April 8^th, 2021), while under investigation, by the New York State Police for allegations that he had sexually abused young male students. These allegations followed an educational program brought to Northwood Elementary School by Bivona Child Advocacy Center in March 2021. The Bivona program was telling children about sexual abuse. Less than a week later (April 14^th, 2021) he was arrested, charged, arraigned, and later indicted on 25 counts. In relation to 11 victims:

• 7 counts of Second-Degree Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child
• 7 counts of First-Degree Sexual Abuse
• 9 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

So, in less than a two-week period, these families, as well as many others, had their lives turned upside down, wondering if their child could be a victim of this monster too. The lives of the families of those young boys who had been abused may have been turned upside down for at least the better part of 9 years or more as they did not know what was going on.

A short two months later on June 21^st, 2021, a second indictment, which included 26 victims to date, was unsealed in front of Monroe County Court’s Judge Bailey Turner. Kirk Aston was charged with an additional:

• 13 counts of Second-Degree Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child
• 5 counts of First-Degree Sexual Abuse
• 10 Counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

How many young boys are out there that are also victims of Ashton? Will we ever truly know? The strength of these families and the young boys that did come forward is nothing short of remarkable and astonishing. To know that you sent your little ones to a place where they should be safe and not subjected to being sexually assaulted up to, or more, than 5 times a week for some, must be inconceivably devastating for a parent. Ashton was in a trusted position, and he violated that position for his own perverse sexual gratification. The abuse occurred from at least March of 2014 until the day he was placed on administrative leave, April 8^th, 2021. Even on that day he encountered a previous victim who had come back to Northwood Elementary to visit his old teachers and unfortunately crossed paths with Ashton. Kirk Ashton, instead of just shaking the young man’s hand he gave him a hug and rubbed his shoulders, an act that was unwelcome by the victim. It brought the victim back to when he was being sexually assaulted as a young boy. We only know about those victims from early March 2014 to April 2021, but Kirk Ashton had been principal of Northwood since 2004. Are there victims of the monster since he started at Northwood?

Previously Ashton had worked at Rush-Henrietta School district from 1996-2004. He worked at Vollmer Elementary School in Henrietta NY as a teacher and Leary Elementary where he was a teacher on special assignment, which was explained further by the District’s spokesperson, is a teacher with administrative duties.Also, Kirk Ashton worked at Crestwood Children’s Center, which is part of the Hillside Family of Agencies.  Ashton worked as a special educator/consultant teacher for 4 years.Rush-Henrietta school officials said that student safety is the district’s top priority and that anyone with concerns should contact the New York State Police. Hillside offered a similar statement. “We are prepared to cooperate fully with the authorities as needed with regard to this reported incident,” the agency said in an email.

These are our babies. As a community we must take a stand and fight for our children. How can we send our kids to school and put our trust in an administration that has failed us already? How many people knew what was going on? Why didn’t anyone come forward during his 17-year tenure? How many students that are now adults did he sexually assault. These are the questions that many in the local community and the Greater Rochester Area have. The magnitude of what Kirk Ashton did goes further than just Hilton, Rochester, and Monroe County, it is felt many miles away. As a resident of a neighboring county this was hard to take in. That something so horrific like this could happen so close to home.  As I have been researching this case and reading through the civil lawsuits, learning some of the things that Kirk Ashton did to these little boys is disturbing. They are vile. They are atrocious. They are horrific acts that no one, especially a little kid, should have to go through. They had to endure this day after day. Year after year. I can only imagine what they were feeling every time their teacher, in various grades, called them to the front of the room and then sent them to the monster’s office. This is what Kirk Ashton is, a monster, he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I truly hope that something can happen in the future to make sure these things do not happen again. What was going through these teachers’ minds when the monster was calling specific boys down to his office multiple times a week with no questions asked? Didn’t these teachers talk to each other?  Teacher Jen Silsbee testified that she secretly recorded a video of Ashton touching a boy in the hallway. Silsbee said she did not think the boy was in danger, but she voiced concerns to other teachers about Ashton’s behavior.  How did the office staff not get suspicious when Ashton had those little boys in his office all the time with the door closed and the windows covered? What did they think was going on in there? Who thought these “lunch bunch” meetings were acceptable? Jurors also heard from the former secretary to the vice principal at Northwood, who said she witnessed male students sitting on Ashton’s lap a number of times and documented it. “She also testified that she witnessed Ashton rubbing students’ shoulders and heads in the school’s main office.”  How is having two male students coming on to the school’s campus when they were on their remote learning days to read to students during “Black History Month,” which was not part of the approved curriculum, acceptable.  If this was a true reading program during February for “Black History Month” why didn’t it stop by March 1^st? It did not, and the monster, Kirk Ashton, took advantage of these boys. Having them on school grounds when they did not have in-school sessions going on. There were, however, other employees on school grounds and should have been suspicious of the boys being on campus. But no one said anything. So far, more than twenty-six students have come forward and testified against this monster in court. How can a parent now be expected to send their children to school when the District has failed them in such a negligent way? Why was it acceptable to have boys with ADHD and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) go to Ashton’s office for additional help & support? Why was it acceptable for a boy, being raised by a single mother, to go to Ashton’s office so that Ashton could question him about things going on at home?  How was Ashton able to carry out his daily responsibilities when on a busy school day, he was sexually assaulting and sexually abusing boys in his office?  Why was it acceptable to have boys with ADHD and an Individual Education Plan (IEP) go to Ashton’s office for additional help & support?

The community has so many questions and even fewer answers. The turmoil, bad thoughts, and anxiety caused by the horrific acts of one depraved man is immense.

Kelley O’Connell-Bryne, former assistant principal of Northwood Elementary, testified that she was worried about losing her job and did not feel comfortable reporting her concerns and observations to the school superintendent. She told jurors she thought Ashton’s boundaries with male students were “very skewed and not appropriate.”  She also testified that she never saw other administrators act the way Ashton did. She did not report Ashton’s actions to law enforcement or Child Protective Services. So, her concerns over losing her job outweighed her concerns for these little boys being brutally sexually assaulted for years. Something that will affect them for their whole lives. Her mandated reporter requirement under New York State law did not matter as her job was more important. The well-being, safety and security of these boys did not matter as long as she kept her job.

The community at large has been devastated by the acts of this monster. He was respected and liked by the community. As Superintendent Kosiorek stated “Principals are like rockstars. Out at the bus loop every morning greeting the kids.”

Greece Police Chief Drew Forsythe called Ashton a “predator.”

“This guy is charged with protecting, guiding, and mentoring these children,” he said, “We drop our kids off every day to this guy, and he does this, allegedly, it’s the worst thing that can possibly happen, in my mind.”

After deliberations October 23,2o22 the jury found former principal Kirk Ashton guilty on 46 of 50 charges. He was found guilty of: 

• 11 counts of First-Degree Sexual Abuse
• 17 counts of Second-Degree Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child
• 18 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child

He was found not guilty on two counts of Sexual Conduct Against a Child and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

.On November 23, 2022, Ashton was originally sentenced to 63 years in prison. However, due to the state corrections regulations it limits the sentence to a maximum of 20 years for the level of felonies with Ashton’s sexual abuse convictions.

While Ashton’s attorney Jason Housel said, “there are numerous grounds for an appeal,” no attempt at a new trial has been made public.

Assistant District Attorney Sara Vanstrudonck said, “It was the most challenging case that I have ever been a part of in my 17 years.”

“Kirk Ashton was trusted by parents to keep their children safe, instead, he violated them,” Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley said in a statement. “As adults, especially educators, it is our responsibility to protect children and put their interests first. Kirk Ashton targeted those who needed extra support and instead of providing a safe environment, he groomed these children.  These victims showed incredible resiliency that we hope will benefit them in their continued journey of recovery. “