Police: Former school board president thought he was meeting young girl, finds adults waiting

GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WXIX) - Police relied in part on a social media video when they responded to Goshen School Board President John Gray’s home on Sunday.

The video, according to a Goshen Township police report, showed Gray on Saturday evening at a store in Randolph County, Indiana, approached by several people who claim to be involved with a child predator sting group out of Muncie affiliated with Predator Catchers Indianapolis.

In the video, the group interrogates Gray for more than an hour accusing him, per police, of trying to meet an 11-year-old girl for sex.

Gray is recorded admitting to being present at the store to meet an 11-year-old girl whom he contacted through messages and over the phone. He says he and the girl were going to “watch a movie and snuggle” and that he wanted to “make her feel special.”

Those recording the video accuse Gray of allegedly telling the girl he would get her in her bra and panties, give her a massage, watch her in a fashion show and perform sexual acts on her. Gray equivocates in his responses.

“You called her pretty, correct?” One among the group poses.

“She is a pretty girl,” Gray replies.

Around 45 minutes into the video, law enforcement officers arrive and place Gray in handcuffs.

The video soon went viral on social media.

Shortly before noon the next day, according to the report, Goshen Township police received a call involving a text message Gray sent to his wife that prompted officers to respond to Gray’s home.

Two officers made contact with Gray on his front porch. They took him to a hospital for evaluation, and he complied willingly, police say. He was placed on a 72-hour hold at the hospital.

The same day, Gray stepped down from his position as board president, which he’d held for 22 years.

A Goshen Local Schools statement reads: “A video posted Saturday evening on YouTube shows John Gray, Goshen Local Schools board president, being handcuffed by law enforcement in Indiana. The content of the video is deeply disturbing to our entire school district and Goshen Local School community.”

The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the Saturday incident.

As of this writing, no charges have been filed against Gray in either Indiana or Ohio.

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