BOLTON, MASS. (WHDH) - BOLTON, MASS. (WHDH) – The principal of Nashoba Regional High School has been placed on paid leave amid an investigation into a teacher who is facing child pornography charges after allegedly sending nude photos of herself to a teenage student and receiving nude photos from him, officials said.
Dorothy Bancroft Veracka, 42, pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of child pornography, giving obscene matter to a minor and posing a minor in the nude Tuesday. Veracka, a teacher at Nashoba Regional High School, allegedly exchanged the photos with a student whom she was teaching at the time.
Principal Paul Di Domenico is not facing disciplinary action but he will remain on leave pending the outcome of an external review of the school’s process during the months of July and August, preceding the filing of the criminal charges against Veracka, according to Superintendent Brooke Clenchy.
Court documents indicate a parent of a student at the school found out about the photos in June 2019 and reported it Domenico. Domenico reportedly promised an investigation but Veracka was allowed to keep working at the school, prompting the parent to inform local police.
Veracka was arraigned in late October on charges of posing a child in the nude, disseminating obscene matter to a minor, and possessing child pornography.
From September 2018 to March 2019, Veracka sent nude photos of herself to the student, according to court documents. Veracka also actively solicited and received nude photos from the student during that time period, the documents indicate.
During a meeting with investigators, police say the student provided evidence of nude photos that Veracka sent to him, in addition to a Snapchat conversation between the two that he saved on his phone. Veracka later admitted to the police that she accepted nude photos sent by the student, according to court documents.
Police say the teen saved messages and photos from Veracka, including the nude photos. Veracka, who has been put on leave from her teaching job, was released on bail and ordered not to have any unsupervised contact with children under 16.
In a statement, Clenchy said, “The Nashoba Regional School District will undertake an external review of its process during the months of July and August, preceding the filing of the criminal charges against former teacher Dorothy Veracka, who has been terminated from her position. To prevent distraction and ensure that faculty and students can focus, respectively, on teaching and learning, Nashoba Regional High School Principal Paul Di Domenico has worked collaboratively with the District to reach the decision that he will begin paid administrative leave for the duration of that review. This is not a disciplinary action.”
Veracka’s attorney Frank L. McNamara Jr. announced last month that his client had entered a plea of not guilty to the charges filed against her.
She is due back in court on Nov. 26.
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