Teacher no longer at West Springfield school after ex-students bring allegations of sexually charged exchanges
SPRINGFIELD — At 17, she told a trusted teacher at Lower Pioneer Valley Educational Collaborative that she just wanted a father.
Hers had died in the waters of the Connecticut River in 2013, according to published reports. She was a small child then. Her mother had her own struggles, and the girl ended up in foster care.
Kenneth Strout, a kindly information technology teacher, offered to be a father figure to her, according to records filed in Springfield District Court. And she was glad, until the tenor of the relationship changed in her senior year at the West Springfield trade school, which serves seven districts.
Strout, of Monson, has been charged with two counts of annoying or accosting a member of the opposite sex, after two former students came forward to the the West Springfield police.
The Republican has interviewed both of the alleged victims, but will not identify them to protect their privacy, given the allegations.
The younger student, now a freshman at Western New England University, said the comfort that Strout offered to 'treat her like a daughter' quickly took a turn.
'He drove me home a number of times, telling me he had permission from the school, which was apparently false, and one time he brought me through a car wash and asked me to take my clothes off,' she said during an interview with The Republican.
He began asking for nude pictures.
She declined, according to a police report obtained by The Republican and interviews with the 19-year-old.
After she went to school administrators and was encouraged to leave the matter alone, she said, she began poring through yearbooks to contact other female students to determine whether they had similar experiences with Strout.
'I cannot believe I was the first one he did this to. There had to be others,' she said. 'I just didn't want to be silent and have this happen to anyone else.'
She has since blocked him on social media, she added.
One other former student, who moved to Florida and is now 21, shared that she had unsettling exchanges with Strout on social media apps after she and her family relocated.
'He started messaging me on Snapchat, TikTok, all my social media. Until I blocked him,' the woman said during an interview on Thursday.
She shared several text exchanges, including a shot of Strout's nude torso and face while he was in the shower, among others, and her responses.
'What are you in college for? Your (sic) the only student I've ever wanted to see naked fyi,' he wrote, according to the exchange provided from the second woman.
'That's a little weird Mr. Strout don't u think? Like I was very much underage in ur (sic) class ... jail bait,' she responded.
'That's awesome you want comp sci ... I know and I never said anything when you where (sic) my student,' Strout responded, according to the messages shared with the newspaper.
'I'm sorry if it's weird or uncomfortable. I will stop,' he said.
The messages were sent under the handle 'TikTok Dad,' which also aligned with the torso shot the 21-year-old alleged victim shared.
A lawyer for Strout, who pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this month, said his client plans to fight the charges.
'This has all been overblown, and it will play out in court,' said Boston attorney Kenneth H. Anderson.
The defense attorney also confirmed Strout no longer works at the school.
'It was a mutual decision,' Anderson said.
A call placed to the school was not returned on Thursday.
The younger alleged victim told West Springfield Police Detective Nicole Hebert that she felt she had been manipulated by Strout.
'She said she just wanted a dad,' Hebert wrote, and that Strout said if the girl lived with him, 'he wouldn't be able to control himself,' according to the report.
The police report adds that Strout asked her to 'send him pics' after she turned 18, and she conceded to send one in a bra.
He said he found her 'sexually attractive' after she turned 18 last year, the report notes.
Certain staff rallied around Strout when he was placed on a three-week suspension, according to the police report. It was a misunderstanding, some said, warning not to ruin Strout's reputation.
Springfield District Court Judge Danielle Williams released Strout on his own recognizance but ordered him to have no contact with the victims, plus a mandate for him to stay away from children under 16 without supervision, barring his own children and stepchildren.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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