Former Lawrence elementary employee sexually abused as many as 8 students, police say
After an expanded investigation into a former Lawrence elementary school employee accused of sexually abusing students, Lawrence police allege the employee may have abused as many as eight students.
Mark Elliott Gridley, 60, was arrested Feb. 8 after a student at Prairie Park Elementary informed their parent about “events that occurred during the school day” on Feb. 7. The parent reported the assault to Lawrence police, leading to Gridley’s arrest.
Gridley was initially charged in Douglas County court with kidnapping and aggressive indecent liberties with a child. Police learned on Feb. 10 about a second assault, and had identified at least two additional victims as of Feb. 11.
The department said Thursday that it contacted the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office Tuesday with a request to process six additional charges against Gridley. Investigators believe that all of the alleged assaults took place between Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, according to court records.
The victims range in age from six to eleven years old, according to LPD spokesperson Drew Fennelly.
Throughout the course of the larger investigation, investigators requested help from Prairie Park parents, asking them to speak to their children about potential dangerous or sexually abusive interactions with Gridley.
“Since being notified of the first allegations on Saturday, February 8th, the Lawrence Police Department has dedicated every available resource to investigate this case, to include the entire investigations division, all of our School Resource Officers, and numerous officers from the patrol division,” Fennelly wrote.
The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office and Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County were also heavily involved in the expanded investigation, officials said.
The department initially declined to release a full count of how many students Gridley allegedly assaulted, citing a wish to confer privately with families at first.
“Every person involved in this investigation is committed to seeking truth and justice for the children and their families, while being cognizant that the work they are doing is on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Fennelly wrote.
Prairie Park Elementary, 2711 Kensington Road, is one of ten elementary schools in Lawrence Unified School District 497. USD 497 staff declined to comment on the additional charges.
In a Feb. 10 letter to Prairie Park staff and families, USD 497 interim superintendent Jeanice Swift said that Gridley had been fired, and that district staff were in contact with families whose students may have been in contact with him. Swift did not issue an additional statement to families Thursday.
The USD 497 school board formally voted to terminate Gridley’s employment on Feb. 24.
Gridley previously worked as a speech and language pathologist at Northern Hills Elementary School and Logan Elementary School, both in Topeka, according to his LinkedIn profile.
At least one affidavit has been filed in the pending case against Gridley as of Thursday, though the statement was redacted in its entirety before appearing on the Kansas court record portal.
Gridley is currently in the custody of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office on a $1.5 million bond. He will next appear in Douglas County court on March 26 at 9 a.m. for a status hearing.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Nathan Pilling contributed to this coverage.
This story was originally published February 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM.
