North Andover Students Walk Out, Protest Sexual Assault Handling

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — At least dozens of North Andover High students have walked out of the school in protest to the way the administration reportedly handled sexual assault allegations. Photos from the scene shortly before noon Wednesday show what appears to be a large group of students outside the school.

The protest centers on what the school called "safety plans" that a victim who said a student sexually assaulted her was asked to sign while he returned to school.

Eliezer Tuttle sexually assaulted a student in 2018 and was accused of sexually assaulting another student in 2017. Tuttle, who was on probation for the 2018 assault, was never prosecuted in the other case because prosecutors thought the victim was "too fragile to testify."

In the 2018 case, the victim reportedly was offered a "safety plan" that imposed conditions such as avoiding contact with Tuttle. The victim refused to sign when she learned she would face disciplinary action if she violated the stipulations laid out in the plan.

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."

Gilligan also 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.

Tuttle, 18, was arrested last week by Salem, N.H., police. He has been held without bail in New Hampshire since pleading not guilty to multiple charges. 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.

"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," Gilligan wrote. His letter did not address the safety action plan.

Reporting from Dave Copeland, Patch, was used in this report