Crime
The student was staying in foster care with Marino and his wife at the time of the alleged assault, according to prosecutors.
The Malden teacher and basketball coach was arraigned Friday on several charges, including two counts of rape. Lane Turner/The Boston Globe
A Malden teacher and basketball coach was arraigned Thursday on charges alleging that he raped an 18-year-old high school student.
Scott Marino, 54, of Stoneham, was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over, and one count of supplying liquor to a person under 21. He pleaded not guilty Thursday in Woburn District Court, records show.
Marino is an educator at the Linden School, also known as the Linden STEAM Academy, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. He is also head coach for the girls basketball team at Malden High School, Superintendent Timothy Sippel said in a statement Wednesday.
Malden police first informed the school district that Marino was being investigated Feb. 19, and he was “immediately placed on leave,” according to Sippel. The district did not cite specific charges in its statement, referring to the circumstances as a “serious incident.”
“I understand how upsetting and distressing this is to our community given the serious nature of these allegations,” Sippel said in Wednesday’s statement. “We thank you for your continued commitment to our students and our district community. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority.”
Marino allegedly sexually assaulted and gave alcohol to an 18-year-old woman whom he knew in Stoneham, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The alleged incident involving the high school student occurred Feb. 18.
The victim was in the foster care of Marino and his wife, according to NBC 10. She played basketball on the team that Marino coached, and the two had known each other for several years before the alleged assault, the station reported.
Prosecutors said that the victim, who was on school vacation at the time, went with Marino to an Ash Wednesday Mass while his wife was on an out-of-state trip, NBC 10 reported from court. Afterwards, they drove around together because the victim had a learner’s permit and had to practice driving on the highway.
Prosecutors said the two went into Boston to pick up dinner, and Marino had them stop at a liquor store on the way home, according to NBC 10. Surveillance video allegedly shows Marino buying a bottle of Patron tequila, a strawberry margarita mix, and other agave liquor, the station reported.
When they got home, prosecutors allege, Marino allegedly gave the victim a margarita and encouraged her to keep drinking it even though she didn’t like it. They ate dinner, and he later poured them shots of tequila, NBC 10 reported.
The victim felt ill and went to her bedroom, where she vomited several times and laid down in bed, NBC 10 reported prosecutors as saying. Marino later entered the room and allegedly sexually assaulted her twice, prosecutors said.
After texting her aunt, who called 911 and drove over, and multiple friends, the victim was taken to Winchester Hospital to be examined, NBC 10 reported.
Marino was released on $75,000 bail under GPS monitoring, court records show. He was court-ordered to not drink alcohol, contact the victim, or leave Massachusetts.
Marino has coached the Malden High girls basketball team since 2016, according to his online coaching profile. Before that, he coached boys basketball for 20 years, including at Stoneham High School, Pope John XXIII High School in Everett, Belmont Hill School, and Suffolk University.
Marino is due back in court April 16 for a hearing, records show. His attorney, Kevin Mullen, declined to comment on the charges Thursday.
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