By John L. Braese
The Enterprise
ONTARIO – An Ontario High School psychology teacher resigned after officials confronted him about playing a graphic movie in his class about serial killer Ted Bundy.
The movie, a 2002 production entitled Ted Bundy, shown to 16 students on Nov. 28, included nudity, vulgar language and sexual violence. Students in the class complained to high school administrators before teacher Ian Cady could show the second part the following day.
Cady didn’t respond to an email message about the incident.
He was placed on administrative leave the next day and Ontario High School principal Jodi Elizondo notified parents of students in the class by letter on Nov. 29 informing the parents them the matter was being investigated. Cady subsequently resigned Dec. 5.
Cady He was hired in August 2016 by the district after graduating from Oregon State University earlier that year.
District records released to the Malheur Enterprise under a public records requested showed that It took less than one month for Cady to find himself in disciplinary hot water. Officials determined that Cady showed a video in class that depicted the electrocution of an elephant.
At that time, Cady was instructed to have videos in the future first screened by the school’s administration.
The district’s policy requires parental consent for a film having a PG or PG-13 rating and instructors are required to preview all films prior to showing them to a class. Parents also have the right to preview the film.
Only two weeks prior to showing the Bundy video, the high school’s teachers were advised about the screening requirement that any “edited, unrated, or films rated higher than PG-13 will only be shown at the discretion of the building administration”.
A district report on its investigation concluded Cady had the opportunity during the class to “jump in and turn the video upon encountering the first, second, third or even fourth obscene and/or sexually graphic scene” but didn’t do so.