Staff Report

Kaitlyn Anne McCullough

PIERCETON — A former Pierceton Woods Academy employee was recently arrested after entering into a relationship with a juvenile who resided on the campus.

Kaitlyn Anne McCullough, 24, 4256 S. SR 109, Albion, is charged with child seduction, a level 6 felony.

On July 8, 2020, the Indiana Department of Child Services received a report of child seduction that occurred at Pierceton Woods Academy. The incident allegedly involved McCullough, who formerly worked as a childcare worker at the facility, and a youth who resided at Pierceton Woods.

On July 9, 2020, the youth was interviewed by a DCS worker and Pierceton Police officer. According to court documents, that person described entering a relationship with McCullough while she was employed at Pierceton Woods. The youth showed Facebook messages between them and McCullough, indicating a relationship spanning from May to June 2020. The juvenile also described two events where the two kissed in a wooded area on Pierceton Woods’ property.

The DCS worker and Pierceton Police officer then spoke with McCullough about the incidents. McCullough admitted to having Facebook conversations with the juvenile and described two incidents where she and the juvenile kissed in a wooded area.

Pierceton Woods Academy is currently facing a sexual assault civil suit in a matter unrelated to the McCullough incident.

In the suit, a father of a juvenile who was allegedly assaulted on the campus says their child was sexually assaulted by Darby Ellis Perry, a former Pierceton Woods employee.

McCullough was booked in the Kosciusko County Jail on Feb. 11, with a $5,250 surety and cash bond.