A Whitnall High School basketball coach and substitute teacher was under investigation for an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old student when he died by suicide earlier this month, police reports reveal.
Just as troublingly, a whistleblower has come forward with allegations that the same teacher, Alexander Lloyd, exhibited the same behavior years earlier with at least one middle school student, but the Whitnall School District kept Lloyd in the classroom even after the whistleblower informed an assistant principal of Lloyd's conduct.
Now multiple parents, including several with close ties to the basketball program, are expressing concern that Whitnall's inaction may have put students in danger.
According to Hales Corners Police Department reports, a Whitnall High School student accused Lloyd, who was 28, of "inappropriately messaging her on social media since November of 2021." During an interview with officers in early February, girl said she and Lloyd exchanged selfies several times, and she provided officers with screenshots of several Instagram messages Lloyd had sent her asking her to FaceTime him and meet up with him late at night.
When an officer asked if Lloyd had ever initiated any conversations that were sexual in nature, the girl replied that "he asked me if I was still a virgin and "he was asking me if I had a boyfriend so I just blocked him."
"Due to the alleged contents of the Instagram accounts," officers noted in their report, " a search warrant will be written and presented."
The day after the girl made her complaint, officers interviewed Lloyd at Whitnall High School. Lloyd admitted that he had conversed with the girl over social media and that he had discussed both Facetiming with the girl and potentially meeting up with her.
When presented with a screenshot of a message he had sent "stating 'You should come drive me home later lol' and Lloyd stated he believes that was a late night message where he was 'pretty sure he was very intoxicated.'"
A detective then "brought up the statement [the girl] had made where she claimed that Lloyd had at one point asked her if she had a boyfriend. To this, Lloyd responded, 'Um, possibly.' [The detective then brought up the additional statement [the girl] had made of Lloyd asking if she was still a virgin. In response, Lloyd stated, 'okay.' He asked Lloyd if he remembers asking her this question and he replied 'um, no comment on that.'"
Lloyd also admitted to exchanging pictures with the girl over both Instagram and Snapchat but denied ever sending, receiving, or asking for anything of a sexual nature and "denied having any romantic interest in [the girl] and added that he has a girlfriend."
Almost immediately after the officers' interview with Lloyd was completed, an email to Whitnall Basketball coaches informed them that Lloyd would no longer be allowed to coach the team and was not to be allowed into any Whitnall building. Shortly before the team's game that night, Whitnall boys head basketball coach Travis Riesop informed the team that Lloyd would not be coaching them.
The following night, Lloyd died by suicide. The Hales Corners Police Department then closed its investigation because "the suspect in this case [is] deceased."
The following night, Whitnall School Superintendent sent an email to parents in the district informing them of a "tragic incident" involving a basketball coach, but did not go into detail. She did, however, seem to reference the investigation that immediately preceded Lloyd's death.
"For those of you that may have already been informed of this news, please do not speculate on the circumstances or contribute to any rumors. Rumors may turn out to be untrue and can be hurtful and unfair," she wrote.
Dr. Olson did not return calls or emails seeking comment.
After "The Dan O'Donnell Show" first reported on the case, a whistleblower came forward with allegations that Lloyd had attempted to contact middle school students through an iMessage game while he was substitute teaching at Whitnall Middle School three years ago. Lloyd, the whistleblower said, would play "Game Pigeon" with students during class and asked for a female student's phone number so that he could play with her.
Upon hearing this from her child, who witnessed Lloyd attempting to get the girl's phone number, the whistleblower reported what she called the "disturbing and inappropriate behavior" to an assistant principal.
"The principal said, 'We're aware of this and it's being handled,'" the whistleblower said. "To my knowledge, he was never disciplined."
Dr. Olson again refused to respond to requests for comment after being presented with evidence that Whitnall Middle School administration was informed of inappropriate conduct by a teacher but apparently did nothing about it.
"This just feels like a coverup," said one Whitnall parent, who requested anonymity because of his close ties to the basketball program. "Why was a teacher asking for students' phone numbers during class? And why was nothing done about it?"
"Something doesn't smell right about this at all," said another parent.
On Sunday, Dr. Olson finally responded to a request for comment that was emailed to her and the entire Whitnall School Board.
"While the Whitnall School District has a general policy of not commenting on personnel matters, I can tell you that the District takes any allegations of an inappropriate relationship between District staff and students very seriously," she wrote. "Furthermore, prior to recent events, I am not aware of any allegations of misconduct by Mr. Lloyd in this regard. Nor am I aware of the specific allegations raised...concerning a complaint made to a former middle school principal."
That answer doesn't sit well with the whistleblower, who feels that her complaint was not taken seriously, or Whitnall parents, who want the District to be more transparent and are fearful that Lloyd may have inappropriately contacted other students.
"You just hope there weren't any more kids affected," said one parent.