The teacher was removed from class and questioned by officials following reports that he had sent a sexual text message to a student.
This is an updated version of a story posted at 2:45 this morning.
John FerraroCHICOPEE – A Chicopee High School teacher has been suspended and is under police investigation after being accused of sending sexual text messages to a 15-year-old student.
Police Chief John R. Ferraro Jr. did not release the male teacher’s name or much information because the investigation is continuing.
The Chicopee High School teacher was removed from class Tuesday morning and questioned by police and school officials.
He was verbally suspended Tuesday and Thursday he was mailed an official letter confirming the action. The suspension is unpaid, Superintendent Richard W. Rege Jr. said.
“He is accused of sexting a 15-year-old student photos,” Rege said. The superintendent said the teacher also is suspected of sending sexual messages to the student. Officials believe the texting started in March.
Chicopee High School Principal Roland R. Joyal Jr. was first alerted to concerns about the teacher by a family member of the student. The woman complained she had found a number of text messages from the teacher on the youth’s phone, Rege said.
Richard W. Rege Jr.The texts were not sexual, but she felt there were a lot of them and was uncomfortable with the teacher texting the student, he said.
“Something did not smell right and we told the teacher to cease and desist,” Rege said. “We checked his phone and we did not find anything on it.”
A School Committee policy bans teachers from text messaging students and calls for them to use the school phones if they have to contact them or their families. At the time, the teacher was reminded of the policy, Rege said.
Tuesday the student’s family member met with Joyal again, just after she found text messages of a sexual nature on the student’s phone. Joyal immediately called for assistance from the police resource officer who is assigned to Chicopee High. Information technology staff were also called to confirm the texts were legitimate, Rege said.
Once police were contacted, they questioned the teacher in the school and later at the Police Department, he said.
“Our first concern was the safety of the students. We made sure the teacher was separated from them,” he said.
Rege said he had the choice of suspending the teacher without pay or putting him on administrative leave, which would have allowed him to continue to be paid until the investigation is complete. Because of the information he had, Rege said he felt the suspension was warranted.
No formal announcement was made to students, but Joyal met briefly with staff to tell them about the suspension. Other teachers were shocked, Rege said.
“It is also a shock to me,” he said. “There was never a hint of anything appropriate. We did a CORI on him this year and it came out clean.”
The School Department runs the names of all staff members through the state Criminal Offender Record Information law when they are hired to ensure they have never been found guilty of a crime. It also rechecks their records every few years, Rege said.
School Committee vice chairwoman Marjorie A. Wojcik declined comment, saying the board agreed to have the superintendent handle all inquiries.
Officials for the Chicopee Education Association did not return immediate calls for comment.
This is the second time a Chicopee teacher has been accused of sharing sexual photos with students.
In 2009, Comprehensive High School teacher Jason P. Beaudry was charged with two counts of annoying and accosting members of the opposite sex, two counts of disseminating obscene matter to minors, and one count of witness intimidation after he allowed students to see inappropriate photographs on his cell phone.
Beaudry was put on administrative leave and later resigned. His state teaching license was also revoked.