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Parent accuses district staffer of sexual assault and urges removal during Westerly School Committee meeting
Summary
At the Oct. 2 Westerly School Committee meeting, parent John Bogue accused a district staff member of past sexual assault and said the superintendent had 'admitted' a mistake; a committee member said the superintendent had reached out but no formal action was announced.
John Bogue, a member of the public, used the Oct. 2 Westerly School Committee meeting’s public‑comment period to accuse a district staff member of sexually assaulting him and urged the board to remove the employee.
“I’m the boy that he raped,” Bogue said during his remarks, which also criticized the content of an elementary open‑house presentation that used the phrase “anxious generation” and included references to suicide and self‑harm. Bogue said the material was inappropriate for very young children and described repeated instances of what he called lapses in judgment by the staff member, saying, “He doesn’t deserve your job.”
A committee member, speaking during the board’s response period, said the superintendent had reached out to Bogue and acknowledged he "hadn't read the room," and encouraged Bogue to speak further with the superintendent. The committee member did not identify any formal personnel action or an investigation announced at the meeting.
The allegation and the committee’s brief response were the most contentious moments in an otherwise routine meeting that also included student and administrative reports on academics and district finances. The board had met in executive session earlier in the evening under Rhode Island General Laws cited for a Level‑3 grievance and superintendent evaluation; the chair later moved to keep the remainder of that executive session confidential.
The meeting record in open session does not show any formal motion, vote, or directive relating to Bogue’s accusations. Chair statements and the committee response indicated only that the superintendent had attempted outreach. No law‑enforcement notification, internal‑investigation referral, or personnel action was announced in open session.
Next steps: the public record from the meeting indicates a written decision will be issued to the Westerly Teachers Association regarding the grievance matters addressed in executive session; the board did not announce any separate timeline or next procedural steps regarding the public allegations stated during open comment.
