Ex-teacher at Roxbury middle school pleads guilty to child rape
Abuse started when student was 12
A former Boston Public Schools middle school teacher has pleaded guilty to raping a child decades ago, when the girl was as young as 12 years old.
David Lockwood, 54, of Arlington, pleaded guilty on Monday to sexually abusing a child over a period of years, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.
The judge sentenced Lockwood to four years in state prison, followed by two years of probation. The DA’s office had recommended a term of five to seven years in state prison.
Lockwood was a teacher at the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury at the time of the sexual assaults, which began in 1996. Suffolk prosecutors secured indictments against Lockwood in 2017 after the victim came forward as an adult.
During a Monday hearing in Suffolk Superior Court, Lockwood pleaded guilty to indictments charging four counts of rape of a child.
Lockwood used his position as the victim’s teacher to gain her trust and prime her for abuse, according to the DA’s office. He would often drive her to different locations, including schoolsponsored events, and the abuse began during one of those drives in 1996, when the victim was 12 years old.
Lockwood was charged with abuse that occurred through 2000, when the victim turned 16 — the legal age of consent in the Bay State. The actual abuse continued beyond the child’s 16th birthday. Massachusetts law, however, does not offer the same protection to minors once they turn 16.
“This individual used his position of trust and authority to gain access to his victim and to maintain an unequal power dynamic that kept her silent and under his control,” DA Rachael Rollins said in a statement. “These are the actions of a predator. That the victim continued to endure his abuse past the age of 16 speaks to the level of manipulation and control this individual exerted.
“Older teens remain vulnerable to abuse by those in positions of authority, including teachers, members of the clergy, coaches, parents and guardians,” she added. “I’m grateful to our partners on Beacon Hill who are working hard to pass legislation that would protect older youth from abuse by adults in a position to exert power over them.”
During his probationary period, Lockwood is barred from having any employment as a teacher and required to stay away from and have no contact with the victim, have no unsupervised contact with children under 18 (except his own child) and undergo sex offender treatment.
The Department of Children and Families has been notified of the sentencing.
Lockwood is also required to register as a sex offender.
Lockwood was charged with abuse that occurred through 2000, when the victim turned 16 — the legal age of consent in the Bay State. The actual abuse continued beyond the child’s 16th birthday. Massachusetts law, however, does not offer the same protection to minors once they turn 16.