Substitute Custodian At Ashburnham School Charged With Rape
ASHBURNHAM (CBS) – A man who is a substitute custodian at an Ashburnham school has been charged with raping an 18-year-old employee.
James McGrath, 64, was arrested on Wednesday. He is charged with four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old, four counts of assault and battery, and two counts of rape.
"Based on the seriousness of the situation we had to take action immediately and place him under arrest," Ashburnham Police Lt. Chris Conrad said.
McGrath is the husband of the John Briggs Elementary School Principal, Andrea McGrath.
"It's upsetting for everyone involved especially the victims. Mrs. McGrath as well. It's her school and livelihood and our thoughts go out to the victim who reported the incident," Lt. Conrad said.
The Ashburham-Westminster Regional School District released a statement saying, "The recent allegations against this substitute custodian are both disturbing and unacceptable. While he was never a regular employee, he was immediately removed from any further employment with the regional school district as soon as we learned of the allegations against him."
Police say McGrath worked at the school as on-call substitute custodian for five years. They also say more than one of the alleged assaults happened here on school grounds however after school hours when all the students were gone.
"This is an isolated incident. The victim and the suspect knew each other so we don't think at any time that any children or staff were put in danger," Lt. Conrad said.
McGrath did post bail and has to wear a GPS monitoring system. Police believe the assaults occurred over the course of several months.