Former Prairie Park speech pathologist heads to 2027 child sex crime trial

A former Prairie Park Elementary School speech pathologist is headed toward a January 2027 jury trial, a delay that leaves Lawrence families waiting nearly two years after the alleged abuse at the school on 2711 Kensington Road. Mark Gridley, 62, faces seven counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, each paired with an alternative battery charge, and seven counts of kidnapping.

Douglas County District Court set the three-week trial to begin Monday, Jan. 4, 2027, and run through Friday, Jan. 22. Gridley has already pleaded not guilty. The long runway to trial reflects both the size of the case and Gridley’s decision to waive his right to a speedy trial, a move that pushed the resolution well beyond the first anniversary of the allegations.

Judge Amy Hanley ruled after a two-day preliminary hearing in October 2025 that prosecutors had presented enough evidence for the case to go forward. During that hearing, prosecutors relied on video and audio interviews from the Children’s Advocacy Center involving seven alleged victims, all girls who were in second through fifth grade at Prairie Park at the time of the alleged abuse. Special education testimony also showed that only two of the seven alleged victims had individualized education plans when the incidents were said to have occurred, underscoring that the alleged contact was not limited to students receiving special-education services.

The case has moved through the courts under strict conditions. Gridley had been released from the Douglas County jail in August on a $750,000 surety bond and remains barred from contact with the alleged victims or their families. The court also set motion hearings for Nov. 19 and Dec. 17, with the December hearing including a status conference.

Lawrence Public Schools said on Feb. 10, 2025, that it immediately relieved Gridley of all duties and had crisis support team members contacting Prairie Park families who may have had direct contact with him. The Lawrence Police Department asked families with concerns to call 785-830-7430. Gridley had worked at Prairie Park since August 2021, and the school board formally terminated him on Feb. 24, 2025.

The allegations have already spilled beyond criminal court. A family filed a civil lawsuit against Lawrence Public Schools in March 2025, and the case became a focus of a March 10 school board meeting, where board members voiced support for families while a parent urged the district to bring in an external crisis team and audit the systems that allowed the alleged abuse to happen. For Prairie Park, the next verdict will not come quickly.