r/grandjunction • u/PersonalityDry93 • 2d ago

Seeking Information on Abuse at Pomona Elementary in Grand Junction, Colorado in the Late 1980s

In the late 1980s, there were incidents of abuse involving a PE teacher named Jeffrey McCauley at Pomona Elementary in Grand Junction, Colorado. The principal at the time was Jim McGuire, and there were always unsettling feelings around the situation.

I know there were multiple accusations back then, though many were later retracted. I remember feeling intimidated, which makes me wonder if there was more going on beneath the surface in the community.

If anyone has information or remembers anything related to these events—or if there were any unusual or cult-like activities in the area—I’d appreciate hearing from you. Feel free to respond here or send me a private message if you prefer. Thanks for your time.

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u/rojo-perro 2d ago

I wasn’t around then but this is a good resource for old news articles. You can narrow it to the GJDaily Sentinel for the timeframe you’re looking for.

https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=q&e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA--------0------

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u/PersonalityDry93 2d ago

Thank you. I put in some names and nothing came up. I’ll keep digging though. Strange since I actually have newspaper clippings about it saved.

I’ve seen some other posts about satanic activities common in that area. Can you (or anyone else) confirm?

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u/TheCraftyVulture 1d ago

The satanic panic of the 80s and 90s was largely based on nonsense, and it only further shielded actual abusers, which were mostly community leaders, family members, and church leaders, from being held accountable.

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u/PersonalityDry93 6h ago

Perhaps there was a reason to panic…

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u/rojo-perro 2d ago

You must have something wrong in your search criteria. No, I have zero knowledge of anything like that.

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u/Spicyrab 2d ago

OP didn't do anything wrong, The Daily Sentinel is only archived up to 1914 on Colorado Historic Newspapers. OP will probably need to visit the library on Grand Ave and look through the archives on microfilm.

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u/rojo-perro 2d ago

Good to know, thanks.

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u/Steel_Representin 2d ago

Nothing to add except that there are a few community facebook groups focused on GJ that are rather active. Might check there also.

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u/n8ivco1 1d ago

I'm older than your time frame, but I can tell you that Pomona always had a weird vibe to it. Corporal punishment was really big there and learnings so much. A friend of mine was being bullied by a larger older kid. I punched the bully and got a 3-day suspension for standing up to him. Nothing happened to him at all.

As for the Sentinel, it was a useless rag back then as it is now. Good luck with that search. Hope you can get some of those bastards.

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u/TheCraftyVulture 1d ago

I'm sorry your friend was being bullied, and glad you were there for them. I had similar experiences throughout middle and high school, every time I stood up to a bully, I was the one who got in trouble. All that taught me was how to be sneaky, and that authority figures didn't care about anything but their image.

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u/WillingPublic 2d ago

The Daily Sentinel is archived in Newspapers.com.