A middle school teacher in the USD 232 school district is in custody, charged with multiple sex crimes.
What we know: Johnson County court records show Keil Hileman, 53, faces six felony counts of unlawful sexual relations.
- A charging sheet says the alleged crimes occurred between June 2017 and October of this year.
- For each of the charges, Hileman is accused of engaging in “consensual lewd fondling or touching with a person 16 or more years old.”
- There appear to be at least two victims who are identified in court documents by their initials and who were both students “enrolled at the school where the offender was employed” at the time of the alleged crimes.
District response: According to an email from USD 232 administrators sent to families on Wednesday, Hileman was a teacher at Monticello Trails Middle School in Shawnee.
- The email says the district was first informed of Hileman’s alleged crimes on Oct. 6 and that the district “acted immediately to remove [Hileman] from the classroom and school campus.”
- He was then “placed on leave to allow the school district to conduct an administrative investigation.”
- The district says Hileman will not be returning to Monticello Trails of the district.
Key quote: “Nothing matters more to our district than creating a safe and caring learning experience for every student, every day,” the district email reads. “If ever you suspect inappropriate behavior in any school or classroom, please notify the principal or law enforcement without delay.”
Other details: The Johnson County Sheriff’s online booking log shows Hileman was taken into custody Wednesday evening at a residence in De Soto.
- He remains in custody at the Johnson County Adult Detention Center in New Century, and has a $250,000 cash bond.
- His inmate record says he faces an initial court date in Johnson County District Court on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Zooming out: Hileman has had a decorated career as a teacher and was known in USD 232 for his personally designed course Museum Connections, which he taught to sixth, seventh and eighth graders at Monticello Trails.
- The course curriculum is based around a classroom museum of some 50,000 real-life historical artifacts that Hileman accumulated over the years.
- The museum and his course was featured in a 2018 NBC News report.
- A report by the Mill Valley News also said Hileman taught an Archaeology and Artifacts course at Mill Valley High.
- Hileman was named the Scholastic Kansas Teacher of the Year in 2004.
- He was also a Lifechanger of the Year nominee in 2018, a national award aimed at recognizing educators that is sponsored by insurer National Life Group.
