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Haverhill School Committee member arrested and accused of groping minors outside 7-Eleven

HAVERHILL – A school committee member in Haverhill, Massachusetts, was arrested and appeared in court Wednesday after allegedly assaulting a minor.

Cheryl Ferguson was charged in Haverhill District Court with indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older. She told police it was a misunderstanding.

Allegedly groped Moll twice

According to the police report, the alleged victim said he was standing outside the 7-Eleven on Dudley Street Tuesday night wearing a Halloween mask when Ferguson approached him and groped him from behind. She then allegedly went into the store and as she left, she approached him again and groped his breast. The boy told police he asked Ferguson to go away and he said she called him a creep.

Police said the boy went home and told his mother what happened, and she recognized Ferguson from the neighborhood.

When police arrived at Ferguson's home, she reportedly told police that she had been playing Keno at the 7-Eleven and when she left she stabbed the victim in the chest and said, “You're scary.” she arrested.

“I would hope that this doesn’t impact the school committee as a whole,” said Paul Magliocchetti, the school committee’s vice chairman. “My heart goes out to Cheryl and her family, but at the same time we have to do what is best for the families and the students in our schools,” Magliocchetti said.

Ferguson was released on personal recognizance Wednesday and ordered to stay away from the alleged victim and anyone under 18. The judge also ordered her to wear a GPS device and imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. She is due back in court in December.

Member of the school committee

Magliocchetti said Ferguson would not be elected to the school board until 2022. She has been in office since 2023.

“It is a situation involving a minor. “We have to address their presence around minors and that is something we will certainly address with legal counsel,” Magliocchetti said.

He said he was unsure of the laws and regulations surrounding her possible removal from the committee.

Ferguson has already been charged with domestic violence, drunk driving and driving without a license.