Brian Kane: The Piano Man’s Bad Vibes
31-year-old Brian Kane of Fort Collins, Colorado has built up quite a reputation. He operated his own business called Piano Man Music, where he provided music for various events including weddings. He also gave piano lessons and worked as a substitute teacher.
From his biography at Colorado Christian University:
I live in Fort Collins, Colorado and own Piano Man Music, an entertainment company that provides live piano and DJ/MC services for weddings, parties, and other events. I also teach piano lessons and do contract work for three doctors' offices at the Harmony Campus of Poudre Valley Hospital. I have also worked in non-profit development, public relations, and radio on WAY-FM and other local radio stations.
Kane described the service his company provided as "classy" and "elegant."
He's a real class act. You can "Become a Fan" of his company on Facebook.
Brian celebrates your unique story by tailoring everything to your needs and preferences. Your mind will be at ease as he takes special care to provide elegant and respectful entertainment appropriate for all ages and audiences.
But, some of the things Brian Kane is accused of show no signs of class whatsoever. In fact, they are not the kind of things one would want to associate themselves with, much less their wedding day.
The headmaster of the school where Kane last worked as a substitute teacher sent the following letter home to parents:
Dear Parents,
Liberty Common School was informed late yesterday afternoon that a man, who once worked for Liberty Common School in a brief and very limited capacity, was arrested in December of 2008 for sexual exploitation.
Mr. Brian Kane worked as an accompanist for our choirs and one musical performance approximately 8 times over a two-year period between 2007 and 2008, and was a substitute for a half-day in 2007. As with all of our volunteers, Mr. Kane had a background check and was found to have no record of arrest.
In September of 2008, investigators informed me that Mr. Kane had communicated online with a few students at our school. The investigators assured us that the content of the exchanges were not threatening and did not constitute criminal behavior. Nonetheless, after learning of these extracurricular online communications, the administration of Liberty chose to be ultra cautious and terminated further business with Mr. Kane.
Liberty Common School received no further information about Kane until late yesterday afternoon when we were first informed Kane had been arrested in December of 2008 on charges unrelated to his brief contact with Liberty Common School. Liberty was unaware Kane was subject to a broader investigation related to the crime for which he is now charged.
As a parent of a Liberty student myself, I assure all fellow parents that the safety and security of our children is of utmost importance at our school. The same holds true for the school parents who constitute Liberty’s Board of Directors, the legal entity that governs our school.
As a matter of practice, upon receiving notification that someone associated with Liberty Common School has been arrested for criminal conduct, we believe parents should be informed. That is the express purpose of this communication.
Please know I received additional assurances today that never has there been any information brought forward to investigators or to the administration that children at Liberty were harmed by Mr. Kane.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at rspicer@libertycommon.org or call at 970.482.9800
Russ Spicer, Headmaster
Liberty Common School
As you can see the letter was long overdue. Telling the parents of young children that weirdness was going on between an adult and a child might just be scandalous. The school decided to keep this sour note quiet until absolutely necessary. Even in this rather vague communique, it is quite plain that the headmaster wants to play down the seriousness of the events. Worst of all, the parents of the child concerned, who promptly pulled their child from the school, claim that Headmaster Spicer tried to shift the blame saying "I think you need to understand your responsibility in this and your responsibility is to protect the privacy of Mr. Kane." It doesn't appear that what Kane does in private is worthy of anyone's respect. But then, I don't understand the complexities of running an educational institution. Spicer denies that he made the statement regarding Kane's privacy. Spicer said, "we are a parent-driven school, so we believe in keeping parents involved in every aspect." The facts, as glossed over in the above letter to parents, seem to speak for themselves, though. And if the parents had to pull their child from the school, how can the headmaster truthfully say that Kane's charges were unrelated to his "brief" contact at Liberty School? It sounds like a song and dance routine with Spicer singing the lyrics and Kane grinding out the melody.
Police found more than 5,000 images of child pornography on Brian Kane's computer. Kane had also been sending messages via MySpace to a 14-year-old girl. Kane used the name "Piano Man." The profile has recently been deleted. Investigators said that Kane was "grooming" the child for future predatory behavior. Kane admits that he had sexual thoughts about the child.
Kane was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child after he was arrested in December 2008. Now he faces the charges of pornography. He’s scheduled for trial February 16.
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