BUCKEYE, Ariz. — Buckeye Union High School Principal Joe Kinney has been placed on administrative leave after police allegedly connected him to sexually explicit messages exchanged online.
The school district announced Tuesday that the principal was under investigation and the issue was unrelated to Kinney's work with the school district. Court records show Kinney was booked into jail Monday for a charge of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
The documents show the FBI had been investigating Kinney since late July.
Kinney is accused of messaging a girl he thought was 12 on the app Whisper and having sexually explicit conversations. The 12-year-old was an undercover law enforcement officer.
Documents claim that Kinney asked the girl for nude photos and made sexually explicit requests.
Kinney was reminded by the undercover agent that he was communicating with a 12-year-old girl.
The suspect allegedly told investigators he thought the conversations were a form of "role-playing" and denied having an attraction to children, records show.
An email sent out to parents from the school district on Tuesday did not include any information about the allegations against Kinney.
The district explained that it had gotten notice Kinney was under investigation and due to that, they placed him on administrative leave.
The email reads as follows:
Dear Buckeye Union High School Families,
I am writing to update you on a situation related to the leadership of Buckeye Union High School.
The Buckeye Union High School District has been informed that Principal Mr. Joe Kinney is under law enforcement investigation for a personal matter, unrelated to his work with the school or the district.
Per school district policy, Mr. Kinney has been placed on administrative leave until further notice.
In the meantime, Ms. Kristin Koke will assume the duties of principal.
Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot share further details at this time.
Our focus is on ensuring a continuation of leadership at Buckeye Union High School and making sure our students have access to an outstanding educational experience.
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your attention to this important update.
Sincerely,
Dr. Steve Bebee
Superintendent Buckeye Union High School District
Melissa Martin, a parent of a student at the high school, said when she received the email, she felt uneasy.
“I immediately just had a like, a gut feeling. And I know it's silly to say that, but I just knew it had to be worse,” said Martin.
Martin said she and other parents felt the email did not provide enough detailed information on the matter.
"I think the majority of our parents, we all started digging and finding out, obviously, there's so much more to the story than what the high school told us," Martin said.
Jennifer Burnette said as an aunt of two students who attend the high school and friend to parents who have children at the school, she was also left to wonder why the principal was on administrative leave.
"The news stations have done a better job at keeping the parents and the community informed of what's happening than the actual school district," Burnette said.
Burnette said in her opinion, the school district had not been entirely transparent.
"If you go to their website page on Facebook you can see comments have been deleted or are being deleted," Burnette said. "They haven't shared it to the actual school page, which I believe would be first and foremost one of the best ways to reach parents in the community who may not have read the email."
Martin commented that the situation is upsetting to parents and said the district "should fire [Kinney] and not just keep him on administrative leave."
"The trauma that one person can affect on a child, just one is so detrimental, and you never know what's going to happen until it happens,” Martin said. "It's terrifying being a parent."
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
