GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — FOX 17 is learning new details surrounding the past of a Forest Hills Public Schools custodian, federally charged with having child pornography.
Bradley Arkesteyn previously worked as a massage therapist, according to a police report obtained by FOX 17. He had one police report filed against him for his alleged behavior as a massage therapist back in 2022.
Records show Arkesteyn never became a licensed massage therapist and only was training to be one.
The police report, filed with the Kent County Sheriff's Office, never resulted in any formal charges. The Kent County Prosecutor says this incident, which allegedly happened at the Simply Massage on Plainfield, didn't have any allegations of touching, so there was no crime to proceed on.
The woman who filed the police report has requested to remain anonymous.
She claims Arkesteyn's behavior was out of line during a massage she received. A second woman FOX 17 spoke with on Friday, who also got a massage from Arkesteyn back in 2022, says she knew in her gut something was off about him. She hopes by sharing her message, more women know to trust their instincts and intuition.
Lila Armock, who also had an appointment with Arkesteyn in October 2022, also felt uncomfortable with him.
“When I did meet him, immediately, I can’t explain it, it’s like a sixth sense, intuitive. Something said something’s not right here. You know, I did not practice what I preach. I teach my teenage daughters all the time — if you’re getting alarm bells in your head about something, if your gut instinct is telling you something doesn’t feel right — this doesn’t feel like a safe person or a safe situation — you need to get out. And I didn’t do that. I’m so angry at myself for not listening to that sixth sense,” Armock said.
FOX 17 also learned on Friday that Arkesteyn, a custodian with Forest Hills Public Schools who is now on administrative leave, worked in the following buildings:
- Meadowbrook Elementary
- Collins Elementary
- Northern Trails 5/6 School
- Northern Hills Middle School
Parents of students shared their concerns with FOX 17 Friday.
“My instinct is first, I hope that all the kids are okay. Obviously, we talked to our child about it, and they, we showed a picture, and they recognized the individual. But were like I’ve never talked to him. I’ve never seen my friends talk to him. So that made me feel better. But, being part of a large Facebook group community— there are a lot of parents who have different stories of like, my child, it was confirmed through the school that my kid did have interactions with him through the school. That’s concerning. A lot of the communication we got from the school was like ‘no child was affected' which is like, just seems like a leap you could make. How could you know that so quickly?” Collins Elementary School Parent Adam Kosecki said.
FOX 17 published the full criminal complaint from the FBI in our initial story on Thursday. Some may find the details of the document disturbing, which is why we are choosing not to detail them in our article Friday.
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube
