BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Boston Public Schools teacher is accused of engaging in sexual communications over the internet with minors, according to the Brookline Police Department.
John Gavin, 34, of Brookline, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly exchanging explicit photos with 12- to 17-year-old girls on Discord, police said in a statement.
Police said that Gavin, a teacher at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston, was communicating with as many as six girls located in Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida.
“It is alleged that during some of these conversations Gavin disclosed that he is a school teacher, enticed the girls to send nude photos of themselves, and sent photos of himself,” Brookline police said in the statement.
None of the identified victims are from Massachusetts, police said.
Boston Public Schools said in a statement that Gavin was put on leave.
“The safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority and after learning about this arrest today, Boston Public Schools immediately placed the individual on administrative leave. According to law enforcement, the current charges are not related to BPS or BPS students,” the school district said.
Before teaching in Boston, Gavin worked at the Roland Hayes School in Brookline as a paraprofessional in 2020, police said.
Gavin is charged with enticement of a child under 16, dissemination of material harmful to minors, enticement of a child under age 18 to pose in a state of nudity, and possession of visual material of a child depicted in sexual conduct.
He was arraigned in Brookline District Court and ordered held on $50,000 cash bail.
Anyone who believes they may be victim of Gavin is asked to contact Brookline police at 617-730-2244.
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