Last Friday, state and federal agencies began investigating an incident straight from the Sicko File involving a teacher who might have distributed handmade flutes tainted with the man’s bodily fluids (described as “semen”) to school districts across Orange County.
The California Department of Justice and the United States Postal Service are investigating a yet unnamed music instructor for giving flutes to kids at several school districts in Southern California, including the Fountain Valley, Capistrano, Fullerton and Newport Mesa agencies, the Orange County Register reported Friday. An official with the Saugus Union School District in Santa Clarita which was also affected said she was told the fluid was semen.
The Register reports that emails were sent to parents of students Friday afternoon, Sept. 29, notifying them of an investigation regarding flutes given to students — as young as elementary-school age.
Newport Mesa officials said the flutes may have been given to some students at Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa. According to other reports, it appears that four classrooms at Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa were impacted.
“The performer distributes a flute-like musical instrument made of PVC pipe or bamboo to students during a music lesson, and the allegation is that he contaminated some of these instruments with semen,” Joan Lucid, superintendent of the Saugus district, said in the email to parents Saturday, according to the Register.
The flutes were made using plastic PVC piping and a single wine cork and had an exterior that could be decorated, district officials said. The Pied Piper pervert is an independent contractor and representing that organization Flutes Across the World (their website has been taken down following the news of the investigation). According to the L.A. Times, an archived version of the group’s website describes it as a tax-exempt organization based in Ojai, Calif. It shows pictures of children holding up brightly decorated flutes and describes the group’s activities as educational and school programs, national and international music missions, community and family night events and summer camps and festivals. The instructor worked at multiple schools districts in Southern California.
Officials with the Fullerton district told the Register that the music program at its schools was sponsored by the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and involved fourth- through sixth-grade students at Golden Hill and Rolling Hills elementary schools during the 2016-17 school year.
“Although presenters at our schools are never alone with children and are always supervised by a teacher or school staff, in an abundance of caution, this presenter will not return to the Fullerton School District,” the district’s website said. “We were informed that this individual has worked in a number of school districts throughout California and we have no evidence to suggest any of our students are connected with the investigation.”
The Phil harmonic society denounced the actions of the instructor and said they have no plans to continue working with the program in the future.
Parents of children who received flutes through the program are being asked by authorities to place them in paper bags (plastic bags could deteriorate any forensic evidence). The district is waiting to hear from law enforcement officials on how the instruments will be collected.
