Days after a judge reduced his bond to $750,000, Mark Gridley, a former speech pathologist charged with child sex crimes at a Lawrence elementary school, has bonded out of the Douglas County jail.
Gridley, 61, had been working at Prairie Park Elementary since 2021. He was arrested and charged in February with one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child younger than 14 and one count of kidnapping.
In July, the Douglas County district attorney’s office added six more counts of indecent liberties and six more counts of kidnapping based on information gathered from additional Prairie Park students.
A police affidavit alleged that Gridley used the guise of a test to abuse students in his office during school hours.
An amended affidavit that supports the additional charges, added to the public case file this week after a Kansas City TV news channel requested its disclosure, alleges a pattern of Gridley bringing nine young girls into his office and repeating most of the same behaviors over the span of Feb. 6 and Feb. 7. Gridley was charged for the allegations from all but two of the girls, who had not accused Gridley of the same acts the others did. Lawrence police alleged they found some physical evidence supporting the accusations in the trash from Gridley’s office.
Gridley had been in custody at the Douglas County jail since Feb. 8. He was released late Thursday afternoon, according to jail records.
His bond was initially set at $1.5 million, which is much higher than most sex crime cases in the county.
Douglas County District Judge Amy Hanley on Monday announced that she would lower the bond to $750,000.
Gridley’s defense attorney, Vanessa Riebli, had told Hanley that due to his financial circumstances, in this case a $1.5 million bond was the equivalent of no bond. Riebli asked that Gridley’s bond be reduced to $100,000, which would mean he’d likely have to pay a bondsman $10,000 to be released.
Kansas’ Bill of Rights states that “All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties except for capital offenses, where proof is evident or the presumption great. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted.”
A Kansas Supreme Court task force that convened in 2018 reviewed pretrial justice in Kansas. That group found that “Courts can only use money bond to address risk of flight. However, it is not unusual for a judge, frustrated by the risk to public safety that a defendant may pose, to set a bond at an amount that will guarantee continued detention until trial.” An executive summary of their report noted that the task force did not believe that such detention was allowed under the Kansas Bill of Rights.
Hanley voiced numerous concerns about lowering Gridley’s bond, including where he’d be living. That was unclear from documentation available Thursday.
Riebli said Gridley’s wife and family were willing to buy a house so he could bond out, and she said that shows that he is not a flight risk.
District Attorney Dakota Loomis had said the state believed the bond of $1.5 million was appropriate. He said there were 19 interviews of children in this case, and “the scope of potential contacts and potential conflicts here is very wide.”
Hanley ultimately said she was not convinced that there was no flight risk, but Gridley will be subject to pretrial monitoring through a GPS ankle monitor.
Gridley is ordered to have no contact with children. He must give up his passport. He can have no firearms of any kind, and he cannot use drugs or alcohol.
He will not be allowed on any public school grounds or at the addresses of families involved in the case. Hanley said if there was a concern about Gridley driving by any addresses of witnesses, she was sure the prosecution would alert her to that.
Gridley was immediately relieved of all duties for the school district after the initial report. His contract was formally terminated by the school board on Feb. 24.
Gridley will have a preliminary hearing starting Oct. 2 and set to span three days. After that hearing, Hanley will determine whether there is enough evidence that Gridley should face a jury trial.
Defendants in criminal cases should be presumed not guilty unless they are convicted. Read more background on the case in the articles linked below.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
Resources for survivors
If you have experienced sexual violence or trauma, please seek the help that’s right for you. There are many options available, and you don’t have to file a police report if you don’t want to.
Get 24/7 help in Lawrence: The Sexual Trauma & Abuse Care Center
- Call 785-843-8985 to reach an advocate, 24/7. (Consider saving that number in your phone in case you or someone you know ever needs it.)
- After an assault: What are my options? Check this page for detailed information about
- talking to an advocate,
- going to the hospital,
- making a police report,
- and/or talking to a counselor or therapist.
Resources on university campuses:
- KU: Contact CARE (Campus Assistance, Resource, and Education) Services: University of Kansas students can make an appointment online at careservices.ku.edu, by email, care@ku.edu, or by calling 785-864-9255. It’s free, confidential and voluntary to talk with the CARE Coordinator. All genders welcome. Read more here.
- Find more KU campus resources at this link. Specific information about sexual assault exams can be found under the “Medical Care” tab.
- Haskell: Find information about Haskell’s campus advocate coordinator and links to additional local, regional and tribal resources at this link.
- Baker: Find Baker University’s Title IX page at this link.
Domestic violence situations: The Willow Domestic Violence Center
- Reach the Willow for help 24/7 at 785-843-3333.
- Find more resources on the Willow’s website at this link.
More resources
- The Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County offers support and resources for children and families affected by child abuse. See their website at cacdouglas.org, call them at 785-592-3160 or stop by their office at 1009 New Hampshire St. in Lawrence.
- StrongHearts Native Helpline: Call 1-844-7NATIVE (762-8483) for 24/7 safe, confidential and anonymous domestic and sexual violence support for Native Americans and Alaska Natives that is culturally appropriate.
- National hotline: Call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text “START” to 88788, and/or visit thehotline.org to chat and learn more, 24/7.
More coverage:
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
Maya Hodison/Lawrence Times
Nathan Kramer / Lawrence TimesLawrence speech pathologist charged with child sex crimes bonds out of jail
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Nathan Kramer / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
