Ipswich School Employee Pleads Guilty To Stealing Instruments, Electronics
IPSWICH (CBS) -- An Ipswich School District employee pleaded guilty to larceny charges Wednesday in Ipswich District Court.
Paul Bedard, 59, of Ipswich, pleaded guilty to Larceny Over $250, having taken place on various dates between December 2009 and December 2013.
Bedard stole musical instruments, electronics, and technology equipment from Ipswich Public Schools and also from individual students over a three-year period, selling the items on eBay.
Bedard was sentenced to one year in a house of correction, suspended for two years, with two years of supervised probation. He has been ordered to pay $44,848 in restitution to the school district and to the parents of children whose instruments he stole, as well as to avoid all school functions and property.
"The school district's steadfast resolve to prosecute this case, in conjunction with great police work and determination from my officers, resulted in a felony conviction with substantial restitution to all the victims," said Ipswich Police Chief Paul Nikas in a release. "Without this collaboration between the school district and the police department, this case may not have been resolved."
In 2013, then-School Resource Officer Shawn Smith began an investigation into the thefts after parents, faculty, and concerned citizens reported several instances of items being stolen from the four Ipswich Public Schools.
Ipswich Police Detective Peter Dziadose secured search warrants to Bedard's PayPal and eBay accounts, and discovered items that were believed to have been stolen by Bedard.
