Lower School (LS) Music Teacher in grades 3-6 Joshua DeWitte was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 9 on child sexual abuse material charges. At his arraignment in Cambridge District Court, Mr. DeWitte pleaded not guilty to six counts of distribution of obscene matter to a minor, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of distribution of child sexual act material. There is currently no evidence to suggest that any victims are BB&N students, Cambridge Police Department (CPD)Sergeant James Diggins confirmed on Jan. 18.
According to a statement from Middlesex County District Attorney Marian T. Ryan’s office, investigators received a tip about “suspected activity” on Mr. DeWitte’s Snapchat account in December. Mr. DeWitte was allegedly using the photo-sharing app to have “sexual in nature” conversations with middle-school aged, male children. His bail was set at $8,000.
Head of School Jennifer Price notified parents of Mr. DeWitte’s arrest in an email Thursday afternoon. After learning about the charges at 9:15 a.m., Dr. Price placed Mr. DeWitte on leave and issued a “no trespass” order. The following day, LS Director Anthony Reppucci and LS Counselor Ashley Correia visited every homeroom in grades 3-6 to explain why he was asked to leave, using age- appropriate language. Four days later, after he failed to show up for an internal employment hearing, Mr. DeWitte was fired. “Everyone deserves a process,” Dr. Price said about the initial decision to put Mr. DeWitte on leave.
The statement to families also promised an six open forum for parents and caretakers, to be held the following week. Dr. Price prioritized transparency in her response, she said.
“I hope I’ve demonstrated throughout this whole process that I’m about being transparent and sharing. I’m not going to withhold information from our community. It’s not who I am or who we are as a school.”
Mr. DeWitte was hired in August from St. Mary’s International School in Tokyo, Japan. The school’s hiring protocol was “followed completely” in his case, Dr. Price said.
He successfully completed a hiring committee evaluation and an interview with Dr. Price over zoom, passed CORI and SORI background checks, and provided three strong references from Cambridge Public Schools, an international school in South Korea, and a choir he directed.
CPD officials confirmed that Mr. DeWitte had how no prior record or other missed indications of criminal activity. Still, the school plans to review its hiring standards.
“I absolutely understand that people by would love to have an answer that we missed his something or didn’t do something,” Dr. Price ing, said. “But the reality is, we followed a pretty me rigorous hiring process, and there were no red ping flags. In fact, his references were very, very of strong.”
Mr. DeWitte is not the first BB&N teacher to face child sexual abuse charges. Former Middle School (MS) English Teacher Edward Washburn pleaded guilty to raping his nephew one in 1988 after being fired from the school a Jan. year prior. During his 23 years teaching at the the MS, Mr. Washburn sexually abused students, which former Head of School Peter K. Gunness failed to report to the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (see Volume 47, Issue 2: “School mulls news of Washburn suicide”). Dr. Price acknowledged the school’s history.
“I hope that the community knows that BB&N has learned… and we are committed to creating as safe a space as possible, and when someone violates that basic trust, we are going to act swiftly and transparently.”
Over 90 families attended the open forum event on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Panelists, ranging from parents and faculty to CPD officials, offered an update on the investigation, discussed the legal process, outlined the school’s response, and advised parents on talking to kids about Mr. DeWitte. The school provided childcare for attendees’ children. Dr. Price wanted the forum to be an open space for families to ask questions, she said.
“In all these hard situations, you come together, you leverage your community, you learn, and you adapt, if necessary.”
Allison O’Neil P ’25 ’26, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP and former assistant district attorney, said at the forum that much of the upcoming legal process is yet to be determined. The Internet Crimes Against Children task force that notified investigators about Mr. DeWitte’s alleged criminal behavior is one of many programs working to prevent child abuse online, Ms. O’Neil said.
“We have detectives and units in all different organizations, locally and federally, that are looking for chatter on the dark webs about folks. So, there’s people out there that are trying to make sure that kids aren’t exploited in this way.”
Mr. DeWitte’s probable cause hearing is currently scheduled for Jan. 31, but the DA’s Office will likely ask for additional time. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has yet to decide whether to indict his case, moving it to Superior Court to be heard in front of a jury, or to continue prosecuting the case in Cambridge District Court. Ms. O’Neil said she predicts the case will be indicted based on the volume of images already discovered. The bail amount, determined by the severity of the charges, criminal history, flight risk, and community ties, was set to ensure Mr. DeWitte will return to court for his next hearing. His bail is not a determination of his final sentence, she said.
From her experience in the District Attorney’s Office, Ms. O’Neil said she has full confidence in Katherine Floger, the chief of the Child Protection Unit, and her team.
“I understand that parents whose children had direct contact with this teacher are anxious, and I think that’s really understandable,” she said. “As I’ve said to the parents that I’ve spoken to, I have such faith in this particular DA’s office. I know that they’re going to keep everyone informed and that they’ll just handle the case with such care for the BB&N community.”
At the forum, LS leadership discussed their strategy for talking with students about Mr. DeWitte’s arrest, which included prioritizing safety and encouraging children to speak up about any feelings of discomfort. LS Assistant Director Marissa Clark also shared coverage plans for the music department. Natalie Kulak, who has subbed for the school previously, has taken over temporarily as a music teacher for grades 3-6. The school has plans to fill the position this spring and is currently hiring a music director for the sixth-grade musical.
Additionally, curriculum changes in the Health and Wellness Department are being considered, Health and Wellness Curriculum Coordinator Dawn McGrath said. Over the last three years, the department was formed and expanded to include three full-time employees.
“The proactive work that we do in our lessons is teaching kids about autonomy, boundaries, and consent,” she said. “We’ve been doing that well before this incident. We will continue doing that.”
Bronwen Carroll P ’28 ’31 ’35, a trustee and pediatric emergency medicine physician at Boston Medical Center, concluded the open forum event with advice on talking to young children about Mr. DeWitte’s arrest and related charges. From her work with children who have been sexually abused, she has learned that talking about abuse needs to be an ongoing discussion in families, Dr. Carroll said.
“If you have a family or a household where these words are never spoken, these topics are never mentioned, that makes it really tough for a kid to disclose or even to understand, to even sort of comprehend what is happening to them if they find themselves in an uncomfortable situation.”
For young children, Dr. Carroll recommended “focusing on the helpers”— the police, teachers, and administration who cooperated with Mr. DeWitte’s arrest. She advised Upper School students to be cautious online: avoid communicating with strangers and never take or send sexually explicit photos. Most importantly, she emphasized the danger of secrets, she said.
“The single most important thing for your kid to know is that adults do not ask children to keep secrets,” Dr. Carroll said. “This is true at the high school level. This is true for beginners. This is universal. So, a secret is different than a surprise. A surprise is something where you expect the person to ultimately find out and you expect them to be happy … Tell your kids, ‘If an adult asks you to keep a secret, you need to tell us right away.’”
As a community, the school is “in the business of believing children,” she said.
The investigation into Mr. DeWitte is ongoing.
