Former Mass. charter school teacher accused of years-long sexual abuse

A former Tynsboro teacher has been accused of grooming and raping a student over the course of seven years.

The victim, who is identified by the pseudonym Jane Jones No. 600, is suing Ryan Deery, a former teacher at Innovation Academy Charter School, for assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to court documents. Deery was 32 at the time he met Jones, who was 14.

The alleged victim is also suing Innovation Academy Charter School for negligence and violating Title IX and the Fair Educational Practices Act.

“The school’s teachers and administrators knew, or should have known, that he had a history of inappropriate student interactions, but they took no action to protect students from him,” lawyers wrote in the complaint, which was filed in Massachusetts Superior Court on July 31.

Deery became the alleged victim’s writing teacher in the second semester of her 9th grade year in 2012. He “immediately began grooming Jane, singling her out for special attention, praise and constant compliments,” the complaint says.

He tutored her once or twice per week, mostly on texts that contained the theme of love, saying he felt the school’s curriculum would not allow Jones to live up to her full potential, lawyers wrote in the complaint. Deery told Jones not to tell her peers about the tutoring sessions, the complaint alleges.

In the fall of her senior year, Jones received an email blackmailing her about her “secret emailing relationship” with Deery and the blackmailer claimed to have a picture of Deery’s penis, the lawsuit says. Jones received a selfie of Deery and his penis from the blackmailer and sent a photo of herself in a bikini so the blackmailer wouldn’t post the selfie around school the following Monday, per the complaint.

After Jones told Deery about the blackmail, Deery began discussing his penis with Jones and how their relationship had changed, the complaint alleges. One day after school, he locked his classroom door and asked Jones to sit in his lap, according to the lawsuit.

From 2015 to 2022, Deery allegedly repeatedly raped and assaulted the victim at the Tyngsboro school and elsewhere, the lawsuit says.

Deery was a teacher at the Windham Woods School in Windham, New Hampshire until the school became aware of the lawsuit last week.

“Accordingly, and considering the seriousness and nature of the allegations, we have taken immediate action and suspended this staff member’s employment. The suspended staff member is not permitted access to school grounds and prohibited from contacting students, families, and staff within the community,” Ryan DeJoy, head of the school, said in a statement.

Innovation Academy Charter School did not respond to a request for comment Monday night. Lawyers representing the school and Deery were not listed in public court documents.