Ex-Cohasset teacher released amid new child abuse charges

Nov. 28--QUINCY -- A former Cohasset Middle School teacher accused of molesting one of his students pleaded not guilty Wednesday to five new charges of assaulting a second student.

Jeffrey E. Knight, 57, of Pembroke was arraigned in Quincy District Court on five new counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He was released on a promise to return to court Jan. 30 on the new charges and ordered to stay away from Cohasset-Middle High School and the alleged victims. He was also ordered not to work or volunteer with people under 16 and must stay in the state except to visit his parents in Maine.

He was already facing two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14. He was arraigned on those charges Sept. 20. Knight had been scheduled to return to court Wednesday for a pretrial conference.

Knight was put on administrative leave in May and has since resigned, according to Cohasset Public Schools Superintendent Louise Demas.

The second victim told police that Knight had pressed himself into her and inappropriately grabbed her several times while taking his class between 2014 and 2015, according to a police report filed with court.

The victim told police she spoke to a counselor about the allegations on Sept. 21. Three days later the victim told her mother about the allegations and they both went to the police.

Knight appeared in court Wednesday with his wife Audrey and son USMC Sgt. Craig Knight in full uniform and about a dozen other supporters.

Knight's lawyer, Eric Goldman, didn't address the new charges in court, but tried to sow doubt about the government's case on the prior charges.

"As far as we know there are no witnesses," Goldman said.

Goldman said that the first set of allegations happened in school and other students should be able to back the story up.

Goldman said that a grand jury failed to indict Knight on the first set of allegations. A grand jury would have weighed the evidence and an indictment would have moved the case to superior court where more serious cases are tried. Grand jury proceedings in Massachusetts are typically kept secret.

Outside of court Goldman said there was nothing to corroborate the alleged the first victim's story.

"It's extremely difficult because it's he said-she said," Goldman said. "It's very embarrassing for his family."

Goldman said the first allegation was initially investigated by the school and said his understanding was that no one had backed the claim up.

Cohasset Public School's handling of the allegations has drawn sharp criticism from the town's parents.

The first student told middle school administrators in February that Knight had allegedly touched her several times in a sexual manner. Police said that the school did not tell authorities about the allegations until May. After a police officer stationed at the school learned about the allegations, Cohasset police began an investigation into the alleged abuse and notified the Department of Children and Families and the Norfolk County Advocates for Children, a public-private partnership formed to help children who face abuse.

In a heated September meeting parents demanded to know why the school took months to tell police and criticized the school's lack of communication about the allegations. Some parents called for Demas's ouster.

Cohasset Middle-High School Principal Carolyn Connolly was put on administrative leave over her handling of the information the day of that meeting.

School teachers and educational administrators are required by law to report any allegations of abuse against children to the state Department of Children and Families within 48 hours of learning about them. They are considered "mandated reporters."

Cohasset Police Chief William Quigley said that his department and the Norfolk County District Attorney's office are still investigating the allegations and how the school administration handled them.

In a statement Wednesday, Demas said she has cooperated with police and the district attorney's office throughout the investigation.

"I am shocked and profoundly disturbed by the allegations against Knight," Demas said. "I emphatically support any student who comes forward, and it is my sincere hope that any member of our school community feels comfortable reporting something that they feel is not right."

Demas said that the Cohasset School Department was conducting a Title IX investigation into the allegations against Knight. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex -- including sexual harassment and violence -- in schools receiving federal funding.

Demas said in September that an outside firm, Ryan Strategies, was hired to examine the allegations and the school department's response.

Knight had worked at the Cohasset Middle School as a science, technology, engineering and mathematics teacher since August 2011. Knight had been a teacher for over 30 years.

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