SANFORD — A teacher at Berwick Academy, who has since been fired from his job, is under investigation for allegedly taking inappropriate photos of students on the school campus without their knowledge.
After seizing computers, cameras and iPads from a Sanford residence Thursday afternoon, South Berwick Police Chief Dana Lajoie said criminal charges could be filed as soon as early next week.
He said the items seized from the Sanford residence will undergo a detailed computer forensic exam.
The teacher has been terminated from his job, said Head of School Gregory Schneider, in an emailed statement issued early this morning.
Lajoie said Berwick Academy administration contacted the police department with information about possible inappropriate conduct involving a teacher on Monday.
In the statement, Schneider said school officials were recently made aware of the misconduct allegations.
“Upon confirming the validity of these allegations, we took swift internal steps to end this teacher’s employment, and we immediately reported this situation to local law enforcement,” Schneider wrote.
He did not say how many years the teacher had been employed at Berwick Academy, a private day school founded in 1791.
Schneider said the school is cooperating fully with the police during their investigation, “as the safety and security of our student body and anyone visiting the Berwick Academy campus remain our highest priority.”
He said he could not comment further, citing the police investigation.
Lajoie said there are allegations that the fired teacher had been photographing female students without their knowledge for as much as a year to 18 months, and that the school has been cooperating with police in gathering information and making appropriate parental notification.
Lajoie said criminal charges are expected to be forthcoming once the extent of the alleged action can be fully determined.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact South Berwick Police at 384-2254.
— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.
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