College: We've Taken Steps To Protect Campus From Accused Rapist

LACONIA, NH — A community college president has issued a more lengthy statement after the revelation that an educator at her school was arrested and accused recently of sexually assaulting a boy repeatedly in the capital region.

Brian Ellis, 45, of Bow, was arrested on Feb. 23 on two felony counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault-pattern after a multi-month investigation by Bow police into an allegation he had repeated sexual encounters with a boy he met online beginning in August 2017. The boy, who was 14 at the time the encounters reportedly began, was able to assist police in identifying Ellis as a suspect in the illegal activity, according to court documents.

After Patch published a story about the investigation against Ellis, a tipster revealed he was an educator at Lakes Region Community College where he has been an instructor in the automotive technology program for about two and a half years.

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When Patch requested specific information about Ellis and his employment status, both Larissa Baía, the president of the school, as well as Shannon Reid, the executive director of government affairs and communications for the Community College System of NH, offered some information but not whether he had been placed on leave. Reid offered more extensive comments after Patch published a follow-up story.

The school, via a statement emailed on Friday, said it was shocked and dismayed "at the additional information learned about the allegations against" Ellis adding it was taking the matters "very seriously." The school stated, "please be confident that, since we became aware of the initial allegations on Feb. 24, 2021, the college has taken appropriate steps to protect our college community."

Baía added, "LRCC is committed to providing relevant and timely information to our community. However, the college also operates under certain personnel rules and legal obligations, which sometimes means that we are not able to publicly announce the details of personnel actions. We hope we have the trust of our campus community and stakeholders to know that we are handling incidents appropriately and with the safety of our students and community foremost in our minds."

RSA 91-A, the state's right-to-know law, does offer exemptions to protect public officers and state employees including records pertaining to "internal personnel practices" as well as requests which "would constitute invasion of privacy." However, the law also states, "Without otherwise compromising the confidentiality of the files, nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit a public body or agency from releasing information relative to health or safety from investigative files on a limited basis to persons whose health or safety may be affected." While the school stated it had communicated information about the incident to the college community, it does not appear as if a statement was made informing the public or college community whether Ellis was still in a classroom or not, educating young adults. Since state taxpayers fund the Community College System of NH, it would also be in their public interest to know if students were safe from accused predators to ensure there was no harm to young adults or future legal actions, lawsuits, or other issues.

In 2020, the state supreme court loosened exemptions of the internal personnel practices provision after lawsuits brought by media outlets and others requesting information about police officers involved in criminal activity and other issues. Many government agencies and bodies have a long history of using the provision to shield policy decisions and actions from the public and the press.

A spokeswoman from the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, in a statement Thursday, said it was the org's belief the college had an obligation to offer information about the employment status of anyone accused of sexual assault. It should also offer members of the college community information and support, if needed, and share the college's policies concerning sexual assault.

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