Dorchester Teaching Assistant In Sex Assault Probe Held On $10K Bail
BOSTON (CBS) - A Dorchester teaching assistant accused of lewd and lascivious behavior with a 14-year-old non-verbal autistic teen allegedly claimed that he was trying to teach the teen how to masturbate, prosecutors said in court on Friday.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Jim Smith reports.
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LaShawn Hill, 33, was arraigned on the charges Friday and ordered held on $10,000 bail.
The prosecutor said in court that a witness caught Hill and a student with their pants undone in a classroom. Hill allegedly said he was trying to teach the teen about masturbation.
Mary Hill defended her cousin, LeShawn, outside court, claiming he was sexually abused as a child and "that's probably affecting what he is doing today."
WBZ-TV's Sera Congi reports.
LeShawn Hill has been placed on administrative leave and school officials are taking steps to fire him.
Boston police said Hill may also be behind a second assault on a different victim at The King School in Dorchester in 2010. School officials there never made any report to authorities.
State law "requires mandated reporters to immediately make an oral or written to DCF (The Department of Child and Families) when, in their professional capacity, they have reasonable cause to believe that a child under the age of 18 years is suffering from abuse and/or neglect."
The school superintendent has now called for a review of the possible second incident involving Hill and whether the proper protocols were followed. Regardless of those findings, all principals and headmasters in the system are undergoing re-training of those procedures in light of what's happened.
Meanwhile on Thursday, Hill was arraigned on separate charges that alleged he stole five laptop computers from the school.
Hill has worked in the Boston school system for seven years.
His wife, WBZ-TV has learned, runs a day care out of their home. She reportedly kicked Hill, a father of three, out of the house after the allegations surfaced.
A phone hotline has been set up by Boston Public Schools for parents to call if they believe their child is also a victim. The number is 617-635-3050.
