Boston school teacher’s aide is suspected in second incident of inappropriate contact

By Meghan E. Irons and Andrew Ryan

December 14, 2011

3 minutes to read

A teacher’s aide who is accused of inappropriate conduct with a nonverbal, autistic student at Harbor Pilot Middle School on Monday is also suspected in a similar alleged incident last year, authorities said today.

LeShawn Hill, a Boston public school employee for seven years, allegedly acted inappropriately with another unidentified student at King K-8 School in Dorchester where he worked as a paraprofessional last year, police Commissioner Edward F. Davis said at a press conference with Mayor Thomas M. Menino and school Superintendent Carol R. Johnson.

Police and school officials offered few details today about the incident at the King School last year. They declined to say whether that incident was reported to police when it occurred, something that would be required by law in the case of any type of inappropriate contact or sexual abuse.

“When things like this come up, we have to be aggressive and assume if this person has been in other schools that there may have been other children harmed,’’ Johnson said today. “We want to make sure we explore every possibility.’’

Davis said that police have issued a summons for Hill, who has been placed on administrative leave from the school, to appear in Dorchester Municipal Court tomorrow on a misdemeanor charge of lewd and lascivious conduct in the Harbor School incident.

He said police did not have enough probable cause to arrest Hill for his alleged contact with the student, who is 14 years old and is unable to speak.

But police arrested Hill, 33, tonight at his home on Howe Street in Dorchester on charges of larceny and forgery for allegedly stealing several computers from the Harbor school in Dorchester. Hill is expected to be arraigned tomorrow morning in Dorchester District Court.

Police, Davis said, are working closely with Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office to determine whether more charges will be filed against Hill.

“We will work tirelessly until we get all the facts on the table in this and hold people accountable for this behavior,’’ Davis said.

Monday’s alleged incident at the Harbor School has occurred on the heels of other recent revelations of child sexual abuse at major institutions. The incident has deeply disturbed the victim’s immediate relatives, who said today that they felt betrayed by officials who were supposed to protect their child.

“He is a victim and justice has to be served,’’ said the boy’s mother, who did not want her name published in the newspaper. She said she plans to hire an attorney before speaking publicly to the press.

The Harbor School incident occurred at 2:30 p.m. when a teacher called police and told them that she had witnessed an alleged assault by Hill on the non-verbal student. The Globe does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse.

The child’s mother was called to the school, and the boy was taken to a local hospital, according his grandmother.

“We are outraged and devastated,’’ said the grandmother who also did not want her named published. “We are all in a state of shock.’’

Johnson and her staff met with Harbor School parents on Tuesday night about the incident. The superintendent said she also called the principals at three other schools where Hill had worked.

Before the Harbor School, Hill was a teacher’s aide at King school last year, and was employed at Lee Elementary from 2004 to 2006, and at Lee Academy between 2006 and 2010, according to the superintendent.

School officials said Johnson learned today about last year’s incident at the King school when she called the principal and he told her about the alleged inappropriate contact.

“I can’t emphasize enough that every school in Boston must be one of the most safe places for children to be,’’ said Johnson. “We must do everything possible to ensure that safety. Anyone who jeopardize that safety must be dealt with quickly and seriously.’’

Asked if Hill had been disciplined previously, or displayed any other warning signs, Johnson said that all information about the employee had been forwarded to the police and declined to discuss specifics.

She added that because of the serious nature of the allegation, the department is moving swiftly to terminate Hill.

The city has established a hotline to encourage parents to report any information they might have. The number is 617-635-3050.

I want to reassure parents, staff and students that we are taking this matter very seriously,’’ Menino said. “We are moving quickly to get more detailed information to them as we continue with this aggressive investigation.’’