Official: Educators in student sex abuse case may lose certifications

PLYMOUTH — The state Department of Education is considering whether to revoke the certification of former fourth grade teacher James Eschert, accused of sexual misconduct with students and four local administrators charged with failing to report his behavior, state officials confirmed Friday.

Eschert was charged with several crimes against children, including fourthdegree sexual assault in January after he resigned from the school district in November 2021 while the state Department of Children and Families was investigating allegations he had repeatedly inappropriately touched female students in his fourth-grade class for years, but no administrators reported his behavior.

The administrators, Sherri Turner, Crystal Collins, Melissa Morelli and Rebecca Holleran, were arrested in August on a charge of failing to report child abuse as state mandated reporters after a criminal investigation revealed they knew about Eschert’s activities for years, but failed to report him, arrest warrants said.

Eschert’s Plymouth schools personnel file, obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows that Superintendent of Schools Brian Falcone filed paperwork with the state education department in November 2021 seeking Eschert’s decertification as a teacher.

“Mr Eschert’s actions, as referenced above, are completely repugnant to his responsibilities as a professional educator, and his actions represent an egregious breach of the teacherstudent relationship,” Falcone said in documents provided to the state. “Based on Mr. Eschert’s actions, the district believes that all certifications and permits issued to Mr. Eschert by the state Department of Education must be revoked.”

Falcone declined to comment Friday about whether he requested the state to also decertify the four administrators. “I am following the appropriate protocol based on the circumstances and cooperating with the state Department of Education,” Falcone said in an email.

Eric Scoville, a spokesperson for the state education department, confirmed the agency is investigating all five educators, but will likely not make a decision on revoking or suspending any of the certifications until the criminal cases are complete. Collins retired as the scandal unfolded. Morelli, Holleran and Turner have been placed on paid leave.

Falcone learned of the allegations in September 2021 — about two months after he became superintendent — after female students approached the principal in their new middle school to relay concerns that Eschert had behaved inappropriately toward them and others, but no elementary school administrators took their complaints seriously, court documents said.