An English teacher at Charlton Middle School has been put on paid administrative leave after he was charged with aggravated rape, among other charges.
Todd Peloquin, 52, was arrested by the Leicester Police Department after a police warrant was issued March 9; he was arraigned in East Brookfield District Court March 10.
He is charged with, among other charges, aggravated rape, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child over 14, according to Lindsay Corcoran, spokeswoman for the Worcester District Attorney’s Office.
Dudley-Charlton Regional School District Superintendent Stephen Lamarche said Peloquin was immediately placed on administrative leave March 9 following his arrest.
“This matter is in the hands of law enforcement officials,” Lamarche said in a statement. “While the Dudley-Charlton schools were not associated with this arrest, law enforcement agencies will receive full cooperation of school and district staff if contacted.”
Lamarche said law enforcement officials informed him that the charges were “not at all related to the school district and do not involve any of our students or staff.”
Peloquin, whose bail was set at $2,500 after a not-guilty plea was entered, was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the victim. He was also ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, surrender his passport, undergo GPS monitoring and have no out-of-state travel.
In an email sent Sunday to families in the school district, Lamarche said that placing an employee on paid administrative leave is “standard practice” in the case of criminal allegations.
“It is not punitive or an indication of any wrongdoing,” he said. “We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and act swiftly and thoroughly in compliance with school committee policy and state and local laws.”
Judge Maura McCarthy continued Peloquin’s court case to May 16.