photo by: Mugshot from the Prairie Park Elementary School Yearbook

Mark E. Gridley is pictured with the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

Lawrence police now allege that eight children, between the ages of 6 and 11, were victimized by a speech pathologist at Prairie Park Elementary over the course of two days in early February.

In a news release on Thursday, Sgt. Drew Fennelly of the Lawrence Police Department said a new charging affidavit had been submitted to the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office in the case of 60-year-old Mark Elliot Gridley. Gridley has already been charged in Douglas County District Court with one count of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and one count of kidnapping, both involving a child born in 2014. But police are now requesting that the total be increased to eight victims, Fennelly said.

According to an affidavit previously filed in Gridley’s case, the child involved in the original incident told an interviewer that Gridley brought them into his office for a speech therapy session and then, under the pretext of taking a test, blindfolded them and taped their hands behind their back. The child told the interviewer that Gridley then put a “long, cylindrical” object in their mouth that made them gag, the affidavit said. Allegations in affidavits have not been proved in court.

Fennelly said Thursday that all of the allegations made against Gridley thus far were for incidents that took place at Prairie Park Elementary School, the only site in the district he was assigned to, over a two-day period from Feb. 6 to Feb. 7.

“Every person involved in this investigation is committed to seeking truth and justice for the children and their families, while being cognizant that the work they are doing is on behalf of the most vulnerable members of our community,” Fennelly said.

Fennelly said he did not anticipate that the department would release any additional information about the case.

After Gridley’s arrest, Lawrence school district Superintendent Jeanice Swift said in a message to school families and staff that Gridley was no longer employed by the school district, and the school board formally terminated his contract on Monday.

Police have asked parents at the school to talk to their children and contact police if they suspect something is wrong. They said concerned parents could also call (785) 830-7430 and have the department arrange a formal interview with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County.

Gridley has been in custody at the Douglas County Jail since his arrest on Feb. 8 and is being held on a $1.5 million bond.