KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Parents in the North Kansas City School District are processing the news about a former employee charged with child pornography offenses.
The Department of Justice announced Thursday that Dennis Hernandez, 28, was charged with transportation of child pornography, production and attempted production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
Friday, the FBI shared a photo of Hernandez and opened its website to hear from potential victims of Hernandez’s.
Court documents reveal Hernandez admitted to recording minor boys in his care at local elementary schools.
Before his brief, two-day role as a first-grade teacher in Independence, Hernandez served as a staff member at a minimum of seven North Kansas City Schools from 2021 to 2025.
He was also a substitute teacher in the district.
Anthony Lordi and Marissa May say Hernandez was their son’s substitute teacher for two weeks at Crestview Elementary School during the 2024-2025 school year.
“For him to be that close to our child is unbelievable,” Lordi said.
Lordi said their son was not harmed, but May recalls Hernandez awarding her son a ‘kindness award’ two days into this role there.
Their most recent interaction with Hernandez was this past summer at The Rush Funplex, an indoor gaming facility not far from Crestview.
Lordi and May say Hernandez approached their family while he appeared to be on the clock and gave their son a $20 gift card to play games there.
The Rush Funplex was unwilling to comment on whether or not Hernandez was a staff member at the Kansas City, Missouri, location.
“Now you question everything,” Lordi said. “Well, he was super nice. Why?”
Courtney Dukes is also rethinking her initial impression of Hernandez after learning the news this week.
Her daughter attended a Meadowbrook Elementary School summer program where Hernandez was one of the staff members in 2024.
“He always had a mask on, he was always real skittish, never really approached the parents, which I see now why,” Dukes said.
Dukes says she’s already contacted the FBI with information she knows.
The parent of a current Meadowbrook student who formerly attended the early education center (EEC), shared the following message with 41 Action News reporter Rachel Henderson on Friday.
“It's definitely scary news to hear,” she said. “There's not much to do other than worry while we wait to find out if he was involved in the case. It's deeply unsettling news for any parent to receive. I do appreciate what the district has done as far as being transparent and forthcoming in their efforts to notify parents. I hope that this event sparks change. Including more due diligence on the front end of employment verification and providing signs for school associates to watch for in the future. Awareness and vigilance are everything.”
Another parent with a child who attended EEC last year, this past summer, and this year, spoke with Henderson.
Their four-year-old child is speech delayed and is suspected to have autism level one.
“I am disgusted and honestly not surprised,” this parent’s message read. “As a former NKCSD alumni, this isn’t anything new in our district. While the district has been handling this situation extremely well so far, it’s beyond disheartening to hear this man worked alongside young kids…and there would have been no indication he was a predator as the only thing on his record is a ticket. Since my child is speech delayed, this was one of my greatest fears , as if something happened, he can’t tell me. We have already considered homeschooling, but this is just pushing us to consider more.”
They’re open to solutions like different district WiFi restrictions or security measures or not allowing personal phones for adults in schools like children.
Like Lordi and May, she received emails from the North Kansas City School District detailing what the district says it knew about Hernandez.
Lordi and May visited Crestview on Friday to ask school officials questions in person.
“I'm super angry and very disappointed with the district as a whole,” Dukes said. “Just because I feel like the hiring process, background checks, are less than what they should be.”
In a statement, the North Kansas City School District shared with KSHB 41 that “as a standard procedure, all employees undergo background checks, and law enforcement databases are continuously monitored.”
Going forward, these parents say they want safer schools now more than ever.
“It happens too often in places where our children are supposed to be safe,” Lordi said. “Whatever we’re doing, we gotta do it more and we gotta do it better.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
