A 34-year-old Brookline man and former Public Schools of Brookline paraprofessional was arrested on Friday and charged with possessing child pornography and enticing a child under 16.
John Gavin, who is currently a teacher at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston, allegedly used the messaging app Discord to engage in “sexual communications” with girls between the ages of 12 and 17. The minors were located in at least six states, but police say none were Massachusetts residents.
“It is alleged that during some of these conversations Gavin disclosed that he is a school teacher, enticed the girls to send nude photos of themselves, and sent photos of himself,” police said in a press release.
Gavin was a paraprofessional at the Hayes School in Brookline from January to August 2020. Court records show that none of the crimes he is charged with took place during that time.
Gavin faces four charges in total: enticing a child under 16, disseminating obscene matter to a minor, posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct, and possession of child pornography.
He was arraigned in Brookline District Court on Friday, where he entered a plea of not guilty and was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail. If released, he will be subject to several conditions, according to court documents, including no contact with the victims or any children, no departure from the state of Massachusetts, and no use of social media or texting applications.
A spokesperson for the Boston Public Schools said that Gavin was placed on administrative leave today, and that the current charges are not related to Boston Public Schools or its students.
“We have communicated this information with our families and staff, and are prepared to support them. We are and will continue to cooperate with all law enforcement agencies as the investigation continues,” the Boston school district said in a statement.
A LinkedIn profile appearing to belong to Gavin also describes him as a former middle school teacher for Springfield Public Schools, and more recently he has advertised himself as a science tutor on the website HeyTutor and local community Facebook pages.
Gavin could not be reached for comment, and no attorney was listed in court documents as of Friday.
Brookline detectives were assisted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Boston Police Department and Massachusetts State Police, according to the press release.
Gavin is the second resident and former town employee to be arrested on child sexual exploitation charges this year, after the Jan. 23 arrest of 24-year-old Scott Cunha, a past Brookline lifeguard and swimming coach who the FBI alleges used Snapchat to solicit sexual images from minors.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.