Assistant field hockey coach John Kovach arrested

A completely dumbfounded parent

Thu Mar 19 2009 11:11

To P.S. - I wasn't belittling all M.A. alumnae as "naive'". I merely pointed out that YOUR comments were naive. Again, I congratulate on your field hockey abilities, and I couldn't be happier that Coach K never displayed inappropriate behavior toward you. But the fact that you were spared does not mean that everyone was - you have no more knowledge of that situation than I do. You have no idea who the police may have spoken to. So, again, I say thank your lucky stars you weren't a victim.
And, just for the record, I am an attorney specializing in children's protective services.

P.S.

Thu Mar 19 2009 10:46

Dear "A Completely Dumbfounded Parent" --

Please don't try to belittle all of us M.A. alums by being condescending and calling us "naive". Unlike you -- we actually attended the school. And, we've spent hours upon hours with Coach K. He didn't do nor say anything inappropriate in the over 8 years I attended the school. And, many of us have parents who are lawyers who know just a little more than you do posing as "law know it alls" when you haven't even bothered to take the time to go to law school.

Your name

Thu Mar 19 2009 10:41

@Proud M.A. Graduate - Congratulations, I'm happy for you and I mean that sincerely.

It doesn't matter what happens in a court of law, convicted or not, the evidence speaks for itself. Innocent children are drugged, raped and harmed because people like Kovach LIKE to view children having sex. He may not have harmed you personally but him having possession of and viewing innocent children having sex is harmful to them and that should mean something to you.

Pedophiles don't change their behavior, they change their location and children continue to be hurt by them.

A completely dumbgounded parent

Thu Mar 19 2009 10:33

To Proud MA Graduate - I am so glad for you that you play field hockey well and that you can credit the training given to you by Coach John. And I am thrilled that he never abused you. Unfortunately, the rest of your comments are quite naive. Yes, the case began due to his contact with someone posing as a 13-year old girl. However, this man is a cop was hired to do this job - there are cops and social workers all over the country paid to do this same thing (including in Maryland, as I personally know several people in Carroll County who do this exact same job). It's not illegal and the e-mail chains will back up the claim. Add to that the fact that your sainted Coach John ADMITTED to police his desire for 9-13 years old girls and the fact that there was kiddie porn on both his home and SCHOOL computers, and you can't claim he is innocent in any way. And the MD police have put the screen names out there - neither you nor I can say whether they have received any response. For all we know, there may be lots of people involved in this by now. So, while you find people on this blog sanctimonious, those same people will easily find you to be naive. Maybe when you are more mature, you will be able to look back at this situation realistically and thank your lucky stars you weren't a victim. And just, by the by, no one disputes that he has helped many field hockey players earn scholarships. But how much screaming and ranting did it take ?

Proud M.A. Graduate

Thu Mar 19 2009 10:11

You people are really mean and sanctimonious snobs. Coach K has his troubles all laid out for him. This whole case turns on a retired cop posing as a 13-year old girl. No child has come forward with complaints. And, the MD police put out all of those screen names Coach used to try to find someone. That means the case rests on someone posing as someone they are not. Give the man some consideration.

I am playing for an elite DI Program thanks to Coach K. I traveled all over with him. He never did nor said anything inappropriate to me nor any of the other children I traveled with over a several year period. Give the man his day in court. Stop being so judgmental.

Your name

Thu Mar 19 2009 10:05

Definiton of a pedophile: An adult who is sexually attracted to a child or children.
Charged with: § 11-208. Possession of visual representation of child under 16 engaged in certain sexual acts.
Remember that pedophiles are masters in the manipulation of children.
Kovach is a master at manipulating children, so much so, that a majority of them are loyal to him now. Anyone heard of the "Stockholm Syndrome"?
The entire complexion of this man is that he is a pedophile and lives to manipulate children.
Pending further investigation, this may just be the tip of the iceberg on what we're learning about Kovach. Clearly, none of us know/knew the real John Kovach.
He is a danger to children wherever he goes. Pedophiles cannot be cured through rehab or medicine. Castration is the only known cure.

A completely dumbfounded parent

Thu Mar 19 2009 09:38

To Family and Your Name - why in the world do you continue to state that Charlotte put the the children of the school there first?? She knows her son was arrested for DUI, she knows he had/has affair (s) with students' parents, and yet she does nothing about it. He screams at kids and goes off on rants. As headmistress, she should never have ALLOWED him to have a student in a car with him again !!! Another poster mentioned that "Coach John: showered the daughter of the mother with whom he was having an affair with presents IN THE CLASSROOM. Did no one else see this or mention it to the headmistress ??? How must the mother of that 12-year old student feel now knowing that John's interest is in 9-13 year old girls !!!?? And "innocent until proven guilty" certainly doesn't apply here - he admitted it ! People - use some common sense - the man is obviously a loose cannon, but the school (his mother) chose to ignore his behavior and rap sheet and continued inflicting his erratic and dangerous behavior on the students. Her actions are not those of a woman whose only thoughts is to the well-being of her students !!!

Another Parent

Thu Mar 19 2009 04:35

"If you are unhappy- Go!". This was the constant and unequivocal message that was delivered when you happened to express concerns about this man, in particular, or with the school, in general. Maybe, instead, it is time to listen.

Current Parent

Thu Mar 19 2009 00:09

Any parent who is unhappy can go to another school....why not try Mt. Hebron where the band teacher had sex with one of the students over the last several years.....that community is dealing with the same issue. This is a private school. If you are unhappy- Go!

Parent of field hockey player

Thu Mar 19 2009 00:03

Not cannibalize each other and attack each other's comments. We did nothing wrong....remember?

Your name

Wed Mar 18 2009 22:44

@former parent - Stick together for what? Destroy Charlotte and the school because we are so mad at John and the fact our concerns were not listened to? or Stick together to try to put this devasting event behind us and move on to maintain the loving, nurturing learning environment our children know and trust - even though we now know that it wasn't perfect. I would like for my children's remaining years at Mater Amoris to be as wonderful as the past ones have been.

Former parent of field hockey player

Wed Mar 18 2009 22:23

The parents need to stick together. If all were polled, I bet each would say unequivocally that they condemn John Kovach's actions. Absolutely. Did anyone ever read the book: Stranger Beside Me?
If given the opportunity to place their children in a van with him- whether it be for his past DUI or for his now known propensity for desiring children in a sexual way- everyone of us would grab our children by the hand and run for the hills.

Family

Wed Mar 18 2009 20:38

We certainly do not condone Johns actions. Charlotte has put the school and the children above everything else. Her entire life has been spent providing an excellent education in a friendly learning environment. Charlotte and her staffs integrity are impeccable. I understand the mixed emotions, I have them myself, however, I would ask for your prayers and support as our family tries to come to grips with this tragedy.

waiting for the adults

Wed Mar 18 2009 20:36

I don't see how people saying Coach did something nice/good for them in the past or relating their experiences with him - is condoning or supporting his criminal actions. That has not been my interpretation of the posts - most of them state that they are sickened by his crimes. Possibly some of his past students are having trouble sorting out the good things from the bad and processing it - we are not helping them by jumping down their throats. Should we tell the kids to forget anything good coach may have done for them - it is now bad that you got that scholarship. Or should we try to help them figure out how good and bad can exist in the same person - and to be careful. We can use this horrible event to teach our children, or the adults can just continue to get into shouting matches (at each other and the students who have posted here) about how awful coach is, the school is, mrs. shea is, etc.

Saddened Parent

Wed Mar 18 2009 19:50

The school was well aware of John's drinking problem, his affair and his erratic behavior. But, he is the son of the head of the school. He is very manipulative and any information provided to the school was dismissed. He consistently made bad decisions in the last two years. My children lost every ounce of respect they ever had for him in their last year at Mater Amoris. It was totally inappropriate for him to have the affair with the mother of a child in his class. The child was distressed about the situation and told every student in that classroom what he/she was going thru and how uncomfortable he/she was. This child was an emotional wreck. As for the DUI--true that John was not driving our children at the time. But he has been observed drinking while driving children on the side of a mountain in Death Valley. John is supposed to be responsible as a teacher and a coach. He was not and as parents we took action--we forbid our children from riding in a vehicle with him or having him chaperone them. I would have never imagined his sickness went this deep. I don't think any of us ever thought he was a pedophile. John is responsible for all of his actions--his actions are not separate from the man. He should be condemned.

Former MA Parent

Wed Mar 18 2009 19:02

Hard to say he's entirely "functional by day" and only a "predator by night" when Kovach tells the police he's looking at child porn on the school computer. In my mind, that makes him an addict, if he was willing to take a chance getting caught looking at kiddie porn at work. Also, he should be working, not indulging his fetish. The comments from the kids and their parents in support of this creep make me want to cry. The idea that because he got my kid a scholarship without abusing her, while cooperating in the exploitation of other little girls, somhow that makes him ok? No. he's a pervert that supports the sexual abuse of children. He must be unequivocally condemned for that, and we should not be sending our kids the message that it's ok to do horrible things to some people so long as you are nice to others (or save their parents a couple of bucks). Yes, I am sorry for him, but i could never "support" him, after what he has done. I mean, how much can he really care about the students and MA community if he's willing to commit a sick crime at the school.

MA Parent

Wed Mar 18 2009 17:00

What about Miss Perez? Did she not share a classroom, a computer and many many trips with him? They were traveling buddies especially when her own daughter was on the team. What did Miss Perez know? Was her antennae up? If she was fooled then the parents were certainly fooled too. She was the one in closest proximity to him. Surely parents made comments to her about his attitude....why were those comments pushed aside? Maybe he should have been fired? Who cares about his mistress. There are several parents at the school right now who have lovers on the side. There are also several parents-past and present- who have had DWI's.

mater amoris alumni

Wed Mar 18 2009 14:47

I cant believe there are people on this site justifying what coach K did. I went to elementary school at Mater Amoris many years ago and i knew this guy for a number of years. I always hated him and I always thought he was a creeper, even as a little kid. He was mean to the kids who There is no justifying child pornography. it's wrong. period. why are people standing up for him. I also cannot believe he had a handgun in his house without a lock on it. There is so much wrong with this man. Does he not care about the safety of his children? I'm so shocked there are people here who are still on his side. he was never a good person. EVER!

Mushroom

Wed Mar 18 2009 12:54

@YourName - I think you make a good point that if anyone could have known about Coach they should have done something about it. But nobody knew all the information. I didn't know about the DUI's or mistresses. The only people who could have put it together are at the school. That makes Mater Amoris' complete and utter failure to communicate with parents all the more irresponsible. Gossip (and now watching the evening news) is the only way to find out anything. I'm tired of being kept in the dark.

Your name

Wed Mar 18 2009 11:37

I have never been a Coach K fan - I thought his whole attitude towards the field hockey was a bit much for 9 - 12 year olds. Possibly because I had kids who were not really in the gungho field hockey group and I didn't think their individual preference not to be gungho was respected. Many of us parents were on those field hockey trips and spent considerable time around Coach. If any of us thought our children were in danger with him, would we have let them continue to be exposed to him? We didn't have to send our kids to MA. 1. We were all fooled by him. or 2. If we are now saying that we knew he was dangerous, but we let our kids around him anyway, what does that say about us as parents? I never suspected Coach of acting inappropriately sexually towards any child - I thought he was too gruff, grouchy but not abusive. If I had, I would have reported it to the school. If the school didn't respond, I would have reported it to Children & Protective services - . What I don't understand is if all these parents had concerns about coach, why didn't they report him to CPS or another agency? I'm as outraged about the reports of coach's dangerous behavior (if true) driving with children, etc. as I am about the child porn since he was physically putting children in danger. If this was true, it should have been reported to the authorities - and not gossiped about amongst parents since not all parents would get the information. Come on people, if you are so willing to point fingers now, where were you then? Tips to CPS are kept annoymous. People are outraged that the school didn't do something about him, but from reading this message board, it sounds like other people didn't do enough either.