HSE school board candidate lost park contract after hiring man charged with child sex crimes

A candidate for the Hamilton Southeastern School Board lost a longstanding contract with the Hamilton County parks department after he hired a family friend in 2022 who was charged with sexual crimes against children in another state, officials say.

In a unanimous vote last year, the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Board terminated John Stewart’s contract to operate his business, K-Trails Equestrian Adventures, at the stable within Strawtown Koteewi Park in Noblesville. 

Board president Stephen Andrews said Stewart violated his contract by hiring the alleged offender, and in doing so potentially endangered the public and reputation of the parks department.

The incident also led park board leaders to change its policies to require vendors to conduct background checks on employees. 

“Generally, child molestation is not looked upon with favor,” Andrews told WFYI this week. “And when you have an individual who is working with minors unsupervised, it just seems like a poor choice of employees and placement.”

Erick Kristianson worked at K-Trails from mid-August 2022 to December 2022. He was charged in Florida in July 2022 with lewd and lascivious felonies for exposing himself to three teenage girls on a FaceTime call and touching a minor under the age of 16. 

He met his alleged victims during his time as a cheerleading coach, according to multiple local news reports at the time.  

Kristianson posted a $300,000 bond and was later allowed to leave the state, even though the charges were still pending against him.
 

Stewart is in a contested race for the Wayne Township seat on the HSE school board in the November election. He’s advocating for policies that support student mental health, career pathways and parental rights. 

The board’s decision to revoke the contract was not previously reported when Stewart publicly announced he would stop managing the horse barn after six years. On the company’s website, he said the reason was to instead focus on providing horse riding experiences in other countries.

WFYI reviewed minutes of the park board’s meeting on March 20, 2023, which detail members' concerns about Stewart “hiring of an individual that had pending legal charges in another state.”

After Kristianson no longer worked at K-Trails, Stewart emailed his staff in March 2023 explaining that he encouraged Kristianson, a longtime family friend, to come work for him at K-Trails "while the legal process works itself out in Florida."

Stewart wrote that he knew Kristianson and his family for many years prior to the charges.

“I knew his character, personality, and faith,” Stewart also wrote in that email. “And I consider him like a son to me.” 

WFYI obtained that email via a former employee. The park board confirmed the email.

This week, WFYI asked Stewart if he knew Kristianson had been charged with harming children before he hired him.

“I was not keenly aware of the details and serious accusations that have now come to light,” Stewart responded in an email to WFYI Wednesday. “I knew his late father, his mother and his family for decades, and I thought that I knew him and could trust his word.” 

Stewart also told WFYI he conducted a background check on Kristianson and “it was clean.” The park board told WFYI they have no knowledge of a background check. And Stewart did not respond when WFYI asked to review a copy of the background check. 

Just weeks after the park board’s vote to end Stewart’s contract in 2023, Kristianson was arrested in North Dakota for new charges filed in California. The 45-year-old now faces 20 counts for separate alleged crimes against minors spanning almost a decade.

Kristianson is now being held at a maximum security jail complex in Orange County, California, where he was denied bail. 

In the emailed statement to WFYI, Stewart wrote that it’s difficult when people “we think we know shock us with alleged behavior we can’t fathom.”

“It was a critical lesson for me and, frankly, as a result I am more adamant and more equipped to demand and ensure that all appropriate systems are in place to protect people,” Stewart wrote. “Especially children.”

Horses and stables at K-Trails 

Stewart’s K-Trails Equestrian Adventures provided family horseback riding experiences – including introductory programs for young children.

It started in late 2016 and, shortly after, entered a contract with the Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department. 

Stewart oversaw the county park’s horse barn, with about 20 stalls and more than 35 acres of pasture. Horses also utilize all park trails, according to a current operator employee. 
 

In an email to WFYI, Stewart said Kristianson primarily worked in barn operations by feeding and maintaining the horses and trails.

But Kristianson did appear to at least sometimes work near children and young employees. A photo from November 2022 on K-Trails Facebook page shows Kristianson in a room with six young people posing for the camera. The page has since been taken down.

The park board learned of Kristianson’s hiring from a member of the public in the winter of 2023. 

Soon after, they sent Stewart a letter barring him from hiring the former cheerleading coach back on staff, among other demands. The park board’s attorney provided the March 1 letter to WFYI.

Stewart was also asked to notify employees of Kristianson’s charges and facilitate a pathway for employees to report inappropriate or concerning incidents, if any, that happened. He was also asked to provide the parks department a list of employees who worked directly with Kristianson. And board members requested proof he completed each request.

Stewart agreed to the board’s demands, according to his March 2023 email to staff. Stewart wrote in the email that he fired Kristianson in December 2022 once he understood the “gravity of the charges.”

“I understand that this situation is complex and that the safety and well-being of our employees and customers is the top priority for both K-Trails and HCPR,” Stewart wrote. “I will fully support and protect any employee who comes forward with information.”

Hamilton County Parks Director Chris Stice told WFYI he has no knowledge of any referrals due to inappropriate behavior from Kristianson. They also notified the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office about Kristianson working on the property, he said. 

‘Poor judgment’

Andrews, the park board president and a former chief deputy prosecutor for Hamilton County, told WFYI that the board felt it was necessary to end Stewart’s contract after learning of Kristianson’s presence. 

“That was not something we would tolerate on the board,” Andrews said. “At that point, we didn't need him as a vendor with that kind of poor judgment.” 

Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Charol Shakeshaft has studied educator sexual misconduct for about 40 years. She said Stewart put his concern for an adult above the safety of children. 

The allegations and charges against Kristianson should have stopped Stewart from offering him a job, according to Shakeshaft.

“There are lots of ways to help a person that doesn't involve saying ‘I'm going to let this person be around kids, this person who has these pending charges,’” Shakeshaft said. 

Someone accused of harming children could potentially subject other children to similar abuse or trauma, Shakeshaft said. 

“[People who abuse children] have skills of gaining trust,” Shakeshaft said. “They have skills of inserting themselves in places that they shouldn't be.”

Parks changed policies

Stewart’s decision to hire Kristianson also made park board leaders reconsider how much power third-party vendors have over who they hire on as staff. 

Before Stewart, the park board did not make vendors run background checks on hires or people who would be on property, they said. 

The same night they ended Stewart’s contract, board members changed language in their contracts with existing vendors. Park policy now requires full background checks for all potential employees and other vendors using park lands. 

They learned from this incident, Andrews said. They want to be sure what happened with Stewart and Kristianson never happens again, the board’s attorney told WFYI in an email.

Stewart told WFYI that he also played a role in “establishing new policies to enhance safety in our county.”

The parks department told WFYI it developed the background policy on its own. 

“It is not my understanding that Mr. Stewart himself collaborated with the Parks Department in the drafting, establishing, or implementing of any policies for the Parks Department,” the department wrote WFYI.

Ben’s Ranch Foundation now operates the horse barn at Strawtown Koteewi Park. An employee of Ben’s Ranch said they run background checks on all new hires following the park department’s rule. 

Florida and California charges

In July 2022, Daytona Beach police filed charges against Kristianson for exposing himself to girls he coached at a local gym, according to court records. In addition, he allegedly touched a 13-year-old girl’s breast. Those records are now under confidentiality seal. 

Kristianson will deal with charges in Florida after a separate case is resolved in California, where he’s facing numerous counts of lewd and lascivious crimes involving children, according to Orange County’s District Attorney’s Office. 

“This was not a predator hiding in the shadows waiting to grab innocent girls,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in 2023. “He was hiding in plain sight as he assaulted girl after girl, thinking he would never be caught because they trusted him as a coach."

Kristianson faces a maximum sentence of 105 years to life for these alleged crimes, if he is convicted on all charges. Criminal defense attorney Cyrus Tabibnia, who is representing Kristianson in California, said his client maintains his innocence in his case.

Kristianson pleaded not guilty to all of his charges in July, court records show. His next court date is in December. 

Rachel Fradette is the WFYI Statehouse education reporter. Contact Rachel at rfradette@wfyi.org.