Concord Superintendent 'Outraged' By Accusations Against Teacher

CONCORD, NH — Concord's school superintendent is stunned and outraged after a high school teacher hired six months ago was accused of prostitution and child pornography charges — including being involved in explicit activities with school equipment, during school hours.

Joshua Harwood, 36, of Manchester was arrested Thursday on two counts of manufacture child sexual abuse images, prostitution involving a child under 18, and possession of child sexual abuse images, all felonies, as well as two counts of misdemeanor prostitution and endangering the welfare of a child. He is also no longer an employee with SAU 8.

Concord School Superintendent Kathleen Murphy said Harwood was hired in July 2020 as a Concord High School teacher in the business department.

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Harwood was placed on leave in December 2020 after a former high school student came forward with an accusation that he was soliciting young men online. He was accused of soliciting the men on Grindr, a self-described dating site and app for gay and bisexual men and the trans community. When allegations of misconduct were made, Murphy said, Harwood was immediately placed on administrative leave and issued a no-trespass order for district buildings and property.

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From there, both the district and the Concord police performed dual investigations — with the school district eyeing whether its policies and state education rules were violated while police looked at possible illegal activity.

Detectives in Concord and Manchester and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated the allegations, according to police, which led to his arrest on Feb. 4.

After "a thorough internal investigation" of the inappropriate conduct allegation, Murphy said, Harwood was found "to be in violation of the New Hampshire Department of Education Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics, in addition to several district policies related to internet use, professional expectations, and use of social media." Murphy added Harwood was involved in the accused activity during school hours and while using school equipment — however, none of the incidents and interactivities involved SAU 8 students. She said the district waited to inform the public of the findings and firing until police completed its investigation and made the charges against Harwood public.

"As superintendent, I am outraged at this individual’s behavior," Murphy said. "The district employed him in late July 2020 as a new employee, with the expectation of professionalism and as a positive role model for our students. Our district remains committed to maintaining the highest possible professional standards for the education, care, and safety of our students."

Before coming to work in Concord, Harwood was a business professor at Southern New Hampshire University. He grew up in Sutton and holds a business administration degree with a minor in sociology.

On Thursday, SNHU's online school newspaper scrubbed a profile of Harwood published in April 2018. In the article, he was described as "an average Joe" after being award the University College Faculty Academic Advisory of the Year Award at the 2017 commencement ceremony. On Twitter, he described himself as "a 3x (time) award-winning educator." Harwood also taught in the Farmington school district.

The New Hampshire Department of Education has also removed his credentials from the department's website. Officials do not publicly comment on open investigations in the department but Murphy said she had been in touch with the department about the case and SAU 8's findings.

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