5-year-old sex investigation criticized

CONSTANTINE, Mich. (WOOD) - Three weeks after a sexual incident in a kindergarten classroom, parents are still upset about the way the district handled the situation. On Wednesday, Constantine Public Schools held a meeting for parents to voice those concerns.
 
The incident in question involved two 5-year-old boys in a kindergarten class at Eastside Elementary School. Authorities say the boys had sexual contact during nap time. Police determined the boys' actions went beyond normal kindergarten curiosity.
 
Once the incident was brought to the school's attention by a parent, the district started following its procedures and called police.

Police then interviewed students without parents' permission. Police say they had to interview students before addressing parents in order to get an unbiased story. The school district checked with lawyers, who said it was perfectly legal.
 
But it made many parents upset.

"Don't you dare question my child without me present," one parent told school officials at the Wednesday meeting.
 
Officials said Wednesday they are willing to change the policy.
 
Emotions where high at the meeting, during which district officials passed out a timeline of the investigation that outlined its steps. Parents were asked to voice any concerns.
 
"What we want is the board to get a constructive way of looking at what happened," one parent told the school officials.
 
For many parents, the number one complaint was a lack of communication between the school and parents.
 
"I didn't know what was going on," said parent Courtney Mwansakombi. "It was scary. I didn't want to send my kids to school the next day."
 
The district sent a letter to parents of students in the affected classroom two days after officials found out about the incident. But it wasn't until after news reports that the rest of the parents were notified -- more than a week after it had happened.
 
"I found out on the news that something had happened and it didn't say what had happened. It just said that there was an incident," said Mwansakombi.
 
The district is still not providing all the details about the incident. That bothered some parents, but others understand.
 
"We know it was unhealthy," said grandmother Rose King. "We know it was probably bizarre in nature and I guess I didn't need to know any more."
 
The district has already made changes in the classrooms so that all areas visible by teachers in an effort to make sure a similar incident won't go unnoticed.
 
The biggest takeaway for parents is to talk to kids about what is and isn't appropriate behavior. Open communication is key.
 
Police are still investigating the "lifestyles" of both children's parents. They want to find out where they learned that behavior.
 
The two boys remain out of school for the time being.