Report documenting alleged encounter between a Fall River teacher and student off limits to public

Fall River Reporter has begun an investigation into a former Fall River teacher who was allegedly caught having sex with a student in Tiverton, Rhode Island back in 2016.

According to sources, a teacher at Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School was found with a 16-year-old student in a parked car in Tiverton, Rhode Island on Friday, September 30th, 2016. Individuals close to the incident allege that the teacher and student were discovered naked in the vehicle, that both occupants initially lied about their ages and that the parents of the student did not want to press charges.

In an effort to verify these claims, Reporter contacted the Tiverton Police Department and spoke with an officer who took the name of the teacher and an approximate date of the incident. After researching the information, the officer contacted Fall River Reporter and said a report had been located that met the description, which was dated October 1st, 2016. The officer indicated that because of the nature of the report, it would need to be cleared for the public to view.

The officer instructed Reporter to submit an official report request on the Tiverton Police Department website using the appropriate date and name of the teacher, which we did.

Original sources indicated that the teacher submitted a letter of resignation just days after the alleged incident. Reporter researched public school committee documents for Diman and found that the teacher in question submitted a letter of resignation effective October 2, 2016.

Teachers who worked at Diman at the time confirmed that the teacher in question was not at work Monday, October 3rd, 2016, and that he did not return.

Fall River Reporter believes that the teacher went on to work for at least one more local school after leaving Diman, including Somerset Berkley Regional High School.

Last week, Fall River Reporter received a letter from Michael Marcello, the Solicitor for the town of Tiverton in response to our request for the report.

Marcello stated that because “no arrest was made incident to that report/investigation, the Tiverton Police Department, after consultation with my office, has determined that the record requested is not a public record” and goes on to say that it would be “an unwarranted invasion of the subject’s personal privacy.”

Fall River Reporter has submitted a request for an appeal of this decision to the office of the Rhode Island Attorney General.