Braintree Prep School Official Charged with Offering Sexual Conduct for a Fee, Human Trafficking

Originally published on Sept. 9, 2016.

Editor's Note: The charges in this article were dismissed on Nov. 30, 2016. Click here for full details.

WORCESTER, MA — A Braintree prep school official faces charges after attempting to pay for sex.

Monday, Steven Bliss, 46, of Braintree, was arrested in Worcester and charged with offering to engage in sex for a fee and human trafficking, according to the Worcester Police Department. The arrest comes after a weeks-long investigation that ended with Bliss allegedly meeting with undercover officers.

Police say that Bliss offered to engage in sexual conduct for a fee during numerous conversations with undercover officers. Based on the investigation and conversations, detectives developed probable cause that Bliss engaged in commercial sex activity by communicating with an undercover officer and lured a person, through the promise of money, to engage in sexual activities, police said.

Through the conversations, Bliss agreed to meet an undercover officer at a McDonald’s in Worcester for the purpose of engaging in sex for a fee. When Bliss arrived at the location, he was placed under arrest and some evidence was recovered, police said.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Bliss is a high ranking faculty member at a prestigious preparatory school in eastern Massachusetts. According to the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website, Bliss is the principal of CATS Academy. The school moved from Newton to Braintree this year.

Last year, the former Dover-Sherborn superintendent was a finalist for the Braintree superintendent opening but he was not chosen for the position.