BREWSTER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Brewster teacher was arrested on charges that he sexually assaulted two 6-year-old students at an elementary school.
Police said parents informed them about what they said was inappropriate sexual contact between a child and the teacher. Noah Campbell-Halley, of Harwich, was arrested on Thursday morning.
Campbell-Halley, 36, is a technology teacher at Stony Brook Elementary School. School administrators were notified and police began an investigation, at which point, officers said they learned of two potential victims.
Campbell-Halley allegedly assaulted two first-grade boys in a small room near his classroom. Police said the boys begged not to go to school after the alleged assaults as they suffered from weight loss and depression.
“Several of the kids described it as the ‘dark room,’ where the teacher would take these students and where the touchings in question took place,” said prosecutor Ben Vaneria. “One of the boys has detailed that the defendant would bring him and one or two other boys into this room. At one period of the time, the defendant, this school year, did touch what he described as his private parts.”
According to court documents, Campbell-Halley would also bring his iPad into the room and show the children “scary and inappropriate” videos. Police said they believe the alleged crimes had been going on for at least two months.
“I have to speak to the bravery of these young students that were willing to talk with us,” said Brewster Police Chief Heath Eldredge. “The longer that this person was allowed to stay in place, potentially more victims we could have been running into.”
Campbell-Halley, who is married and has a young son, was ordered held on $25,000 bail at his arraignment in Orleans District Court. He faces two counts of statutory rape of a child, which carry a life sentence.
A meeting was held for parents at the school on Thursday night. Parents said they were not able to be told a lot of information about the investigation. Representatives from the group The Children’s Cove suggested parents ask their children open-ended questions like, “Has anyone made you feel unsafe” to learn if they were victims as well.
“It’s emotional, it’s draining because you wonder, did it happen to my kid?” said Pauline Henry. Her son had Campbell-Halley as a teacher in first grade and she said when she met him, he seemed “normal.” Henry said she left the meeting on Thursday early because she felt school officials were not answering any questions.
Counseling is being offered to the children and their families. Police said an investigation is ongoing and anyone with additional information is asked to contact Brewster Police.
School officials said in the future, two adults will teach the technology class that Campbell-Halley taught.
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