P-town athletic director, teacher being investigated

PROPHETSTOWN – A science teacher and the athletic director at Prophetstown High School is being investigated in connection with an “inappropriate” e-mail received by a former student, the the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department said Friday.

Deputies have confiscated David Alborn’s work computer, Detective Pat Carney said, adding that Alborn has been under investigation for the last 6 months, since a teenage girl made a complaint.

No charges have been filed. Alborn of Prophetstown has been interviewed by the department and is cooperating with investigators, Carney said.

Alborn could not be reached for comment Friday; a number in the phone book has been disconnected.

The computer, seized Monday, will be sent to the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to be examined by forensic investigators, Carney said.

It does not appear that Alborn and the girl had physical contact, he said.

He would disclose no further details of the investigation, and did not know Alborn’s age.

Dave Rogers, superintendent at Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico Community Unit School District 3, would confirm only that the sheriff’s department has confiscated a high school computer and that a staff member has been placed on administrative leave. He would not confirm that the staff member is Alborn.

Rogers declined to discuss the investigation, but said the district takes such complaints seriously.

“The safety of students is never a point that is not a priority in the district,” Rogers said Friday.