NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP/WHDH) — A former member of both the city council and the school committee in a Massachusetts city has been charged with child rape and possession of child pornography.
Bert Reed was held without bail Monday pending a hearing May 4 to determine whether he is a danger to society.
He was arrested by Newburyport police on Friday. Reed, 42, met the alleged victim, a boy under the age of 16, on the internet last year, authorities said.
“Any time there’s a situation like this, of course, it’s a disappointment,” Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday said.
Three statutory rape charges against Reed date back to the summer of 2017, court documents show. Reed also allegedly sent the victim at least one explicit photo in February.
Reed served as a Newburyport councilor from 2000 until 2004 and sat on the school committee from 1998 until 2002. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2003.
Surprised neighbors said Reed lives with his cat and dog in an apartment in the town.
“I wouldn’t have thought that he would have been involved in something like that,” a neighbor told 7News.
His lawyer acknowledged there was enough probable cause for a dangerousness hearing but declined comment outside court.
Reed has been suspended from his job at Gordon College.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)