Teh One Who Knocks
03-17-2015, 10:47 AM
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
http://i.imgur.com/3OF5veal.jpg
WORCESTER — A former health and sex education teacher at the North Central Essential Charter School in Fitchburg was sentenced to jail Friday after pleading guilty to enticing and raping one of her 14-year-old male students.
Rachelle N. Gendron, 28, of 4 Sheridan St., Fitchburg, was sentenced to 2½ years in the House of Correction, with 10 years of probation to follow, after entering guilty pleas in Worcester Superior Court to charges of child rape and enticing a child under the age of 16.
The sentence imposed by Judge Janet Kenton-Walker was recommended by Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle and Ms. Gendron's lawyer, Edward P. Ryan Jr., under a plea agreement.
The child rape charge to which Ms. Gendron pleaded guilty was reduced from child rape aggravated by age difference, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in state prison. Four additional counts of child rape aggravated by age difference were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Ms. Riddle said the student and Ms. Gendron entered into a relationship in the fall of 2012, exchanging phone numbers and communicating by text messaging. The prosecutor said Ms. Gendron enticed the 14-year-old to come to her house for sex on or about Oct. 5, 2012, and performed oral sex on him at that time.
Ms. Riddle said during an earlier court hearing in the case that prosecutors had a number of text messages and photos of Ms. Gendron "in various states of undress" that were taken from the victim's cellphone. School officials said Ms. Gendron was fired when the allegations against her came to light.
Ms. Gendron, who was a part-time teacher at the school, told the court her relationship with the teenager began as an effort on her part to counsel him after he told her he felt alone and had no one he could trust.
"I wanted to help him, I deeply regret everything that occurred," she said.
In urging Judge Kenton-Walker to adopt the recommended sentence, Mr. Ryan said Ms. Gendron was "highly regarded" in the community and that her criminal conduct was "an aberration in her life."
Mr. Ryan said his client graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College with a degree in English. He said she never intended to work as a teacher, but accepted a part-time position at the charter school when it arose.
"She has suffered greatly," Mr. Ryan said of his client, who told the judge earlier that she was on medications for anxiety and depression. Ms. Gendron also told the court she had surrendered her teacher's license.
Ms. Riddle said the boy and his family were on board with the plea agreement.
As conditions of probation, Ms. Gendron was ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and a mental health evaluation and any related treatment recommended by the Probation Department. She was further ordered to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with anyone under age 16 and to wear a GPS monitoring device.
http://i.imgur.com/3OF5veal.jpg
WORCESTER — A former health and sex education teacher at the North Central Essential Charter School in Fitchburg was sentenced to jail Friday after pleading guilty to enticing and raping one of her 14-year-old male students.
Rachelle N. Gendron, 28, of 4 Sheridan St., Fitchburg, was sentenced to 2½ years in the House of Correction, with 10 years of probation to follow, after entering guilty pleas in Worcester Superior Court to charges of child rape and enticing a child under the age of 16.
The sentence imposed by Judge Janet Kenton-Walker was recommended by Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle and Ms. Gendron's lawyer, Edward P. Ryan Jr., under a plea agreement.
The child rape charge to which Ms. Gendron pleaded guilty was reduced from child rape aggravated by age difference, which carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in state prison. Four additional counts of child rape aggravated by age difference were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Ms. Riddle said the student and Ms. Gendron entered into a relationship in the fall of 2012, exchanging phone numbers and communicating by text messaging. The prosecutor said Ms. Gendron enticed the 14-year-old to come to her house for sex on or about Oct. 5, 2012, and performed oral sex on him at that time.
Ms. Riddle said during an earlier court hearing in the case that prosecutors had a number of text messages and photos of Ms. Gendron "in various states of undress" that were taken from the victim's cellphone. School officials said Ms. Gendron was fired when the allegations against her came to light.
Ms. Gendron, who was a part-time teacher at the school, told the court her relationship with the teenager began as an effort on her part to counsel him after he told her he felt alone and had no one he could trust.
"I wanted to help him, I deeply regret everything that occurred," she said.
In urging Judge Kenton-Walker to adopt the recommended sentence, Mr. Ryan said Ms. Gendron was "highly regarded" in the community and that her criminal conduct was "an aberration in her life."
Mr. Ryan said his client graduated summa cum laude from Wheaton College with a degree in English. He said she never intended to work as a teacher, but accepted a part-time position at the charter school when it arose.
"She has suffered greatly," Mr. Ryan said of his client, who told the judge earlier that she was on medications for anxiety and depression. Ms. Gendron also told the court she had surrendered her teacher's license.
Ms. Riddle said the boy and his family were on board with the plea agreement.
As conditions of probation, Ms. Gendron was ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and a mental health evaluation and any related treatment recommended by the Probation Department. She was further ordered to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised contact with anyone under age 16 and to wear a GPS monitoring device.