Former Cohasset teacher pleads not guilty to new charges of indecent assault and battery on a student
Prosecutors say the five charges brought against Jeffrey Knight this week involve a second victim.
A former Cohasset Middle School teacher pleaded not guilty Wednesday to five new indecent assault charges brought against him in Quincy District Court.
Jeffrey Knight, 57, of Pembroke, was previously arraigned on two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over. Authorities said the STEM teacher indecently touched a female student, starting when she was 13 and continuing when she was 14. The student reported the alleged assaults to school administrators in February, and the police were informed in May.
He pleaded not guilty to those charges in September.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s office said the new charges brought against Knight this week are related to a second victim under the age of 14.
On Wednesday, the former teacher was released on his own personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from Cohasset middle and high schools, have no employment or volunteer work involving children under the age of 16, and have no contact with the victims or witnesses. He is only permitted to leave the state to visit his parents in Maine.
Former Cohassett teacher Jeffrey Knight is back in court on new charges. The ADA says in both cases Knight was teaching class and simultaneously rubbing himself against the juvenile victims. pic.twitter.com/8zWvcuZyg2
— Robert Goulston (@rgoulston) November 28, 2018
According to a statement from Cohasset Superintendent of Schools Louise Demas, the new allegations of inappropriate conduct toward a student took place a “few years ago” but were only recently reported to the police.
Knight was placed on leave after the first allegations surfaced and has since resigned from the district.
Demas said the school district is concluding an investigation into the incidents and an independent consultant will be brought in to conduct a review and provide recommendations for the schools to implement.
“I am shocked and profoundly disturbed by the allegations against Knight, who was employed in Cohasset since 2011,” the superintendent said. “I have held a public forum with the community and have committed myself and all Cohasset Public Schools administrators to being responsive to all faculty, staff, student and family concerns regarding this matter. The school district also recently convened a family-faculty Safe Schools Committee. We are at the beginning of a long process that will not be completed until all parties have all the relevant answers.”
Knight is due back in Quincy District Court on Jan. 20 for a pre-trial conference related to all the charges against him.
