Married Illinois school board official 'posed as wife's veteran EX

Release time：2024-05-02 06:39:25 Source：Culture Capsule news portal

A school district official in Illinois allegedly posed as his wife's ex-husband on Tinder to catfish women into meeting for sex – then got caught during a nail-biting sting operation.

In a scandal which has rocked the Moline-Coal Valley school district, board member Jason Farrell, 39, is accused of creating a dating profile using pictures of Mathew Harris, 40, a military veteran.

Harris was previously married to Farrell's current wife, but they divorced around eight years ago.

Farrell invented stories about serving in Iraq as he attempted to 'solicit women for sex', according to Harris, who shared screenshots of lurid Tinder conversations involving the fake account.

But father-of-four Farrell's alleged scheme came to an abrupt end after a woman informed Harris about the fake profiles and the veteran plotted an undercover sting to expose him.

In a scandal which has rocked the Moline-Coal Valley school district, board member Jason Farrell (pictured) is accused of creating a dating profile using pictures of his wife's ex-husband

Mathew Harris (left) said his fiancee Heather (right) was contacted by a woman who matched the fake Tinder account and they then plotted an undercover sting

Mathew Harris shared screenshots of messages sent by the fake Tinder profile, which was allegedly created by Jason Farrell to 'solicit women for sex'

The Tinder profile allegedly created by Farrell includes pictures of his wife's ex-husband, Mathew Harris, who claims that Farrell posed as him to meet women for sex

The bizarre events have gripped the small city of Moline in Rock County, western Illinois, where Farrell has refused to quit his position on the school board despite demands from colleagues and parents.

A Facebook page has also been created for residents to campaign for Farrell's removal.

He denies the allegations and his wife is believed to remain staunchly at his side.

Harris first raised the alarm about Farrell and the fake Tinder profile in late March, when his fiancée, Heather, was approached by a woman who had matched with the account.

The woman believed the profile was evidence that Harris was cheating. In reality, the account was created by Farrell to catfish women, it is claimed.

Screenshots show that messages sent by the fake Tinder profile include 'I want to take you out for drinks and then take you to bed' and 'I want to kiss every inch of that body'.

Harris and his fiancée asked the woman to continue messaging the account and arrange to meet the culprit so they could confront him. They already suspected Farrell was involved.

Mathew Harris claims he caught Jason Farrell red-handed after a woman who matched the Tinder profile agreed to help with an undercover sting

Farrell allegedly sent this selfie to a woman he met through the Tinder account, even though it reveals that he is not the person pictured in the profile

'The woman he matched with on Tinder agreed to meet him under the assumption it was actually me,' Harris said.

'I agreed to wait outside with Heather so we could all see once and for all that this person wasn't me, but more importantly find out who it actually was.'

Before the date, Farrell even sent a selfie to the woman – revealing himself as a different man to the one in the profile.

In footage shared on YouTube, the woman secretly recorded on her cellphone as she spent nearly 15 minutes with Farrell on the 'date' before Harris bursts in to confront him.

As Harris's fiancé records on her cellphone, he calls out Farrell and reads back some of the messages sent by the fake Tinder profile.

Thousands of people have since viewed the YouTube video and demanded Farrell resign from the school board. An emergency no-contact order was also put in place which bans him from contacting Harris.

'The man created a fake Tinder account, he was soliciting women for sex, meeting them as me, trying to convince them he was me despite the fact he looks nothing like me,' Harris said.

'There's women out there that he could have hurt that I don't even know that think that it was me and that's not fair.'

He added: 'He's very, very poorly trying to tell stories of my life, playing them off as if they were his.'

Harris said he wants criminal charges against Farrell but the Moline Police Department told DailyMail.com that it has not received an incident report.

Harris posted a video to YouTube of the moment he allegedly confronted Farrell

Farrell has refused to step down from the Moline-Coal Valley school board and insists that the claims against him are false

During a meeting of the Moline Coal Valley school board on Monday, members voted unanimously to censure Farrell and petition the regional superintendent to remove him.

But Farrell has refused to quit. He claims the audio and video of the sting was falsified.

'I have no intentions of resigning from my school board position,' he said in a statement released on April 4.

'The allegations made against me are false. I have not been charged with any crimes but instead tried solely through social media.

'My wife and I, with the advice of legal counsel, will explore all of the options we have to respond accordingly to such heinous accusations.'

School board president Andrew Waeyaert told the recent meeting: 'We are not a court or jury, but the alleged conduct is just so deeply disturbing, and it has resulted in the district being cast in a terrible light.

'The board and administration have been inundated with inquiries, complaints, and FOIA requests about this matter, and it has monopolized all of our time.

'This situation and its impact have taken away countless hours from our mission, which is to serve kids and families.'

Farrell did not respond to a request for comment. 

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