BROOKLINE, MASS. (WHDH) - A 36-year-old Newton man has pleaded not guilty to rape charges after allegedly sexually assaulting a middle school student while he was a teacher in Brookline.
In March, Brookline police began investigating allegations of sexual assault after a report from a Brookline resident, officials said.
In an interview on Monday, the victim told the Norfolk District Attorney’s office that her social studies teacher assaulted her in sixth and seventh grade, starting in 2016 when she was 12 and he was 31. She said the assaults continued through the end of the 2018 school year, with the majority of them allegedly happening in a classroom at the Heath School in Brookline.
After the interview, officials confirmed Larry Chen had been employed as a Brookline Public School teacher during that time and issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of aggravated statutory rape, rape of a child under 16, and indecent assault and battery of a child under 14.
Chen was arrested Monday and was arraigned on 18 counts of each charge. He was held on $10,000 cash bail.
“The victim reported the defendant locked the door behind her and when the victim sat down in a chair the defendant began to touch the victim on her shoulders chest and in between her legs,” prosecutors told the court Tuesday. “The victim also reported that this took place every day after school for the next two school years and it was always the same.”
Chen’s parents stood by him after the arraignment saying, “He’s a good teacher and he’s got a good reputation in the town and this is just not fair. Where is justice?”
Parents who have children who attend the school said they are shocked and disgusted by the allegations.
“It’s not good to hear about that — at all. Especially being a father that’s the last thing you want to hear,” one parent said. “The last thing you want for her to come home and talk about if that ever happened to her. What would you do? How would you react?
This is not the first time in Chen’s teaching career that he has been under investigation. In 2015, his students at the Michael Driscoll School in Brookline fought to get him his job back after he was fired for using profanity in front of them.
Chen was rehired but resigned from the district on his own terms in 2018 and has been working as a tutor since, officials said. Brookline school superintendent Linus Guillory said Chen also worked as a seasonal employee with the town’s recreation department last summer and that school officials learned of the allegations Tuesday.
“While the judicial process plays out, we are nonetheless deeply concerned by these allegations and are committed to providing our full cooperation with the investigation into these charges. Our paramount concern is always the safety and well-being of our students, and school counselors are available to students as needed to provide support,” Guillory said.
Chen has been ordered to stay away from children and must wear a GPS monitor. He is due back in court on Thursday.
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