North Andover Schools Reviewing Sexual Harassment Policies

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- North Andover Public Schools will hire an attorney to reviews its sexual harassment policies after the arrest of a high school student on rape charges in New Hampshire, and revelations that two other students at the school had previously accused him of sexual assault. In a letter sent to parents Monday, Superintendent Gregg Gilligan said the independent review would look at the school system's "current policies, procedures, and forms relating to reports of student criminal activity and/or harassment, the processing and investigation of such reports, and ensuring a safe and non-hostile environment for all students."

When Eliezer Tuttle, 18, was arrested by Salem, NH Police last week, he was already on probation for sexually assaulting a North Andover High School student in 2018. In 2017, a then 15-year-old student at the school went to police and told them Tuttle had raped her. Tuttle was never prosecuted in the 2017 case because prosecutors thought the victim was "too fragile to testify."

In the 2018 case, school officials asked the victim to sign a safety action plan when Tuttle was allowed to return to school. The victim refused to sign when she learned she would face disciplinary action if she violated the stipulations laid out in the plan.

In his letter Monday, Gilligan said the episode was "challenging to those personally impacted, our school district, and our community as a whole." He declined to talk about specific cases in his letter, but did note that the school system complies with all local, state and federal laws.

"Any criminal act reported to, or witnessed by, school staff or administrators has been, and continues to be, reported immediately to the North Andover Police Department and other appropriate state and local authorities," he wrote. His letter did not address the safety action plan.

Tuttle has been held without bail in New Hampshire since pleading not guilty to multiple charges. In the New Hampshire case, police say Tuttle raped a teenage girl in his car outside of a Salem, NH restaurant on Feb. 17, then raped her again later that day outside of a movie theater in Epping.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).