Superintendent: Alleged Peeping Tom Had Brookline School Directory

Brookline school officials have confirmed that a Brighton man facing child pornography charges in Brookline District Court had a copy of a Devotion School student directory when he was arrested on nearby Lawton Street last month.

Robert E. Higgins, 47, was arrested Aug. 16 and charged with photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest after he was apparently caught peeking into a bedroom window on Lawton Street. Higgins was later arraigned on nine additional charges, including several counts of possession of child pornography, receipt of stolen property and dissemination of child pornography.

All police reports related to the case have been sealed by Brookline District Court Judge Patricia, and Brookline police have only said that officers had seized a computer, pictures, camera and videos of people in their homes during the arrest.

But Superintendent Bill Lupini confirmed today that police had also seized a paper copy of the student directory for the Devotion School, which is located less than half a mile from where Higgins was arrested. Devotion School parents were notified of the discovery in a letter from the school department late last month.

Lupini said the directory was produced and distributed by Devotion's PTO, though the information came from the school department's own records. Families are are asked whether they want to have their information included in the directory at the beginning of each school year.

While some Brookline PTOs gather their own information for school directories, Lupini said most, like Devotion, rely on data from the school department. The superintendent said school officials had been rethinking that practice even before Higgin's arrest.

"We're taking a look at some of the those procedures to see if we need to tighten those up even further," he said.

Lupini said he plans to bring up the issue in his monthly meeting with PTO presidents on Wednesday, Sept. 22.

Higgins has plead not guilty to all charges and is due back in court this Thursday, Sept. 23.