Grand Jury Weighs Criminal Charges In Peabody High School Case

PEABODY, MA — An Essex County grand jury will look into allegations of sex abuse at Peabody Memorial High School beginning in 1999 and continuing after the victim graduated in 2003.

The victim has sued the city of Peabody and the teachers involved in federal court. In a filing Monday, both sides asked for a hold on the case until May 1 to see if the grand jury files criminal charges in the case. The grand jury's deliberations have been delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic but are scheduled to resume March 15.

"If the grand jury does not return an indictment, the parties will then commence with discovery; however, if an indictment is returned, the parties will ask that, in the interests of judicial economy, the matter is stayed until the conclusion of the related criminal case," the joint filing, which was approved by the federal judge Thursday, said.

The former student, who is identified as John Doe in court documents, claims he was given drugs and alcohol and sexually abused by Lynette Occhipinti, a former educational assistant at the school, starting when he was a freshman at the school in 1999. City and school officials declined comment when the lawsuit was filed in November, but responded to the accusations in a February court filing in the civil case.

Occhipinti and David Montgomery, the other former teacher named in the federal lawsuit, have not responded to requests for comment. In addition to Occhipinti, Montgomery and the city of Peabody, the complaint names as defendants 10 school staff members whose names the man does not remember.

Doe has attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities and received an individualized education plan when he enrolled in the school in the fall of 1999, according to the complaint. As part of that plan, Occhipinti was assigned to tutor him for one hour every school day. The lawsuit claims that Occhipinti invited Doe and an older student she tutored to her Salem home to use her tanning bed.

The lawsuit claims that Occhipinti and her then-husband Robert smoked marijuana with the two boys. They continued to visit the home twice a week to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. As Doe's grades improved, Occhipinti started tutoring him outside of school and on school breaks at her home. The lawsuit claims Occhipinti would pull Doe from classes to take walks on the school property and would complete homework assignments for him.

During his sophomore year, Doe visited Occhipinti's house after breaking up with a girlfriend, the lawsuit said. Doe claims she kissed him and told him she had "real feelings" for him. On a subsequent visit, she performed a sexual act on Doe, the lawsuit said. On another visit, when he was 15, she tried to force him to have sexual intercourse with her, the lawsuit said.

Doe's complaint also claims Occhipinti was having an affair with Montgomery. She would invite Doe, Montgomery and other students to her home when Robert Occhipinti was out of town. Doe said Montgomery used cocaine and discussed some of his female students with kids that attended the gatherings at Occhipinti's home.

On another occasion, the lawsuit said, Doe and a friend visited Occhipinti at her summer home in New Hampshire. The lawsuit claims Occhipinti, who knew Doe was drunk, insisted he drive her two young sons to a friends house to get ice cream. Doe blacked out during the drive and the two boys had to drive the car home, crashing it into a bicycle in front of Occhipinti's vacation home.

By his senior year, Doe said in his complaint, he was using the drugs Occhipinti had introduced him to on a daily basis. In addition to giving him drugs, Doe claims, Occhipinti gave him money and told him where and how he could buy drugs on his own.