Superintendent Boone Addresses Child Pornography Arrests of Worcester School Employees

Friday, September 25, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Reporter

One week ago it was revealed that a Worcester Public School cafeteria worker was arrested in early September on charges of possession of child pornography.

On Tuesday, it was discovered that a second WPS employee - a bus driver for children with special needs - was arrested on two counts of possession of child pornography in late July.

As GoLocalWorcester reported in both incidents, the employees arrested each passed a CORI check prior to employment.

In two separate memos alerting school administration and Worcester’s school committee to the arrests, Superintendent Dr. Melinda Boone wrote in similar fashion that the arrests had yet to be reported by media and the administration hoped media wouldn’t report on them.

On Thursday evening, Dr. Boone addressed both arrests and the school system’s policy for commenting on personnel matters.

Here is Dr. Boone's statement:

The Worcester Public Schools is aware of certain media reports that have indicated that two Worcester Public Schools employees have been arrested in connection with possession of child pornography charges.

To be clear, the Worcester Public Schools take issues of student safety very seriously and ensuring the safety of students while at school is the most important function carried out by District staff. It is the policy of the Worcester Public Schools to utilize all appropriate resources, including CORI checks, when making employment decisions. With regard to any matters involving the potential involvement of students as victims of the criminal activities of others, the District cooperates fully with law enforcement authorities and defers to the law enforcement authorities to conduct any and all criminal investigations they deem necessary and appropriate. At present, the District is not aware of any ongoing criminal investigation involving the potential involvement of Worcester Public School students as victims of any criminal activity.

The Worcester Public Schools cannot comment on personnel matters involving current or former employees or with regard to reported arrests of employees.