Matthew Kearney, a former administrator for an Episcopal school near Jacksonville, Fl., was arrested in 2016 for stalking and harassing a teacher he had dated. Kearney previously was terminated by the school.
Among the allegations are that Kearney drove erratically in an effort to frighten the teacher, brandished a weapon, threatened to kill himself, prevented her from leaving, and called her repeatedly from a mental hospital.
Extra security was placed on the school as a result of the incident, and the teacher left the school for a safe location.
The school was the scene of a previous fatal shooting, in which headmaster Dale Regan was shot and killed by a Spanish teacher who had been terminated earlier in the day.
Anglican Watch is troubled by the apparent ongoing nature of Kearney’s behavior and the seeming delay in addressing it. We also would like to know if Kearney was thoroughly vetted prior to employment, as the sort of behavior alleged typically does not show up out of nowhere.
Kearney taught English at my private high school in the 90s. He displayed disturbing behavior back then as well, to include a strange fixation on me and a friend of mine who were initially co-editors of the yearbook and had been on staff under his predecessor for years. His behavior was controlling and confrontational – we ended up quitting entirely simply to avoid him. He also made strange/inappropriate comments about me to my mother.
I was not surprised when that same friend forwarded me the arrest report.