State records reveal disturbing child sex abuse allegations made against teachers

By Emily Champagne 

For the past year, Boston 25 News has been digging into teacher sexual misconduct in several Massachusetts Public Schools. 

Now investigators have been looking into a new layer: asking the state for documentation of teachers whose educational licenses were suspended or revoked because of sexual misconduct. It was discovered that within these records, there was a whole educational system that was failing to keep kids safe. 

These records revealed disturbing results. One case found that a teacher was abusing a student for nearly a decade, exchanging nearly 1,000 messages with them. Additionally, another teacher was found to take students on day trips, non-consensually sleeping with them on weekends. To

add on, another teacher still holds their teaching license in the state despite being a level three registered sex offender. 

Upon looking at nearly 60 other records spanning from 2013 to 2023, Boston 25 found that only 35 teachers surrendered their license when confronted with sexual abuse allegations. Fifteen teachers have criminal convictions in other states. 

According to Jetta Bernier, the executive director of Enough Abuse commented on the events, sharing that “the big losers here are the kids.”Additionally, Senator Joan Lovely, a survivor of child sexual abuse said that there are no mandatory reporting mechanisms in place for sexual abuse victims, making faculty able to get away from their actions. 

As a result, Bernier has created the Enough Abuse program, a non-profit that works with school districts across the country to prevent child sexual abuse. Moreover, Lovely has been leading the charge on Beacon Hill, sponsoring several bills to better protect children in schools. She wants to enhance employment screenings, require schools to have sex abuse prevention training, and prohibit the age of consent as a defense. 

Many adults and children want the system to be airtight, not allowing perpetrators to continue their behavior. In doing so, the city will make sure every case involving the violation of a child’s rights to be recorded. This will make sure people know how large the problem really is. 

Boston 25 has asked for DESE, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as the Senate to talk about their findings surrounding the matter. They both have refused to comment.