Lake Forest Sex Offender Arrested For Being In School Zone, Administrators Keep Quiet

LAKE FOREST, IL — Police arrested a registered sex offender last month after he was spotted in a school zone, leading some local parents to question school administrators' decision not to notify families about the incident.

Paul Salgan, 43, faces four felony charges stemming from a Sept. 13 incident at the Lake Forest Recreation Center, which on that Friday was hosting the first of three days of the 48th annual Friends of Lake Forest Library book sale.

That morning, a woman on her way to a pickleball class spotted Salgan, a registered sex offender, sitting on a bench. The witness said she was "1,000 percent sure" it was Salgan, according to police reports obtained by Patch.

Police said students from Deerpath Middle School had been out on the turf field for gym class and on the playground that morning, and officers found security footage that showed Salgan sitting outside the entrance.

The next day, officers went to Salgan's Stablewood Lane home to speak with him. At first he denied having gone anywhere, but then admitted having gone to the book sale, telling officers that he goes there every year to pick up items to re-sell online.

"I told you, what if someone notices me?" Salgan told his mother during the interview, police reported.

When asked why he was worried about being noticed, he said because he "didn't want to be embarrassed and that he's ashamed," police reported.

Salgan did admit that officers had told him he was not allowed near parks or children, but told police "there's not a single child there," explaining that he was unaware that there was a pre-school inside the rec center.

Salgan is required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life under the terms of a plea agreement he made earlier this year to resolve a case with Lake County prosecutors.

In that case, Salgan was indicted in September 2022 in connection with a Lake Forest police investigation that began nearly 18 months earlier.

Patch reported at the time that Salgan admitted to investigators that he had downloaded child sexual abuse materials on his cell phone. His parents told investigators that Salgan was a "hoarder" who operated a business selling DVDs out of their basement, according to police reports.

In June, on the eve of trial, Salgan entered a negotiated plea with Lake County prosecutors that saw him avoid jail time after he admitted to one count of possession of child pornography in exchange for a sentence of 30 months of probation, 100 hours of public service and a lifetime of sex offender registration.

On Sept. 17, prosecutors approved four new felony charges against Salgan for his trip to the library book sale — unlawful loitering within a school zone, unlawful loitering within a public park and two counts of unlawful presence within a school zone.

Officers measured the distance from where Salgan was spotted to the grounds of Deerpath Middle School and the surrounding fields, finding that he entered the rec center less than 80 feet from the pickup area from the city-operated Kinderhaven Preschool Academy.

The new case has prompted criticism from local parent group Parents Care. Its members have expressed frustration over the failure of Lake Forest School District 67 administrators to notify families about the arrest of a registered sex offender who was allegedly near school grounds.

"The presence of a registered sex offender near school grounds, especially in proximity to children, represents a potential safety risk that parents deserve to know about. Deer Path Parents deserve to know so they can ask their children if, God forbid, they had any interaction with this individual," representatives of the group said in a statement.

Police reports show no indication that any school officials were involved in the investigation.

District Superintendent Matthew Montgomery has not issued a public comment on the matter but has previously referred to Parents Care as an "opposition group" in disputes over communication policies.

Montgomery did not respond Tuesday to questions regarding his administration's policy regarding notifying parents when people are arrested on or near campus for sex offenses and why his administration decided not to disclose Salgan's arrest to the public.

However, in an Oct. 3 message, Chuck Walsh, the safety and security director for Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115, made several misleading statements about the arrest in an attempt to explain why administrators never disclosed it to the public.

"Our protocol is to communicate to families as soon as possible if a safety issue involves their child or one of our schools," Walsh said, "this incident did not."

Walsh said the "community book fair was held at the Lake Forest Recreation Center outside of school hours."

But, in fact, the book fair was scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on a school day, and police reported it was about 10:30 a.m. when Salgan was spotted in a school zone.

And, according to police, there were Deerpath Middle School students outside for gym class that morning on the turf field and the playground.

"While Salgan was in the book fair, I observed multiple juveniles entering and exiting the northwest entrance with bags and boxes of books," Officer Madison Polster reported.

Other misleading statements from Walsh include the suggestion that Salgan was arrested on the day of the incident.

"An arrest was made, and the individual was removed," Walsh said.

But, in fact, Salgan was not arrested until he turned himself in five days later.

Walsh claimed he only learned about the incident on the day Parents Care sent out an email, which the school administrator ironically described as "sensationalized and inaccurate mass communication."

The Illinois Sex Offender Registration Act mandates strict boundaries for child sex offenders, preventing them from being within 500 feet of schools, parks, and other areas where children gather. Violating these restrictions is a class 4 felony, punishable by up to 3 years in prison.

"By not reporting, the district risks appearing to downplay or conceal information that parents would consider critical to their children's safety," said Parents Care representatives, "which could erode trust and confidence in the administration."

Court records show Salgan is due back in court Sept. 28 for a preliminary status hearing on the new charges.

Related:

• Fired Lake Forest High School Food Service Worker Gave Number To Student, Superintendent
• District 65 Withholds Record Of Grooming Probe Into Fired Teacher
• Alleged 'Grooming' At Evanston School Led To Firing In Lake Forest