Mansfield Schools Addressing Security After Alleged Stalking of Teacher

Mansfield Schools Superintendent Teresa Murphy said Tuesday that district officials have addressed safety and security problems raised by a man who, according to police, entered two schools after hours while stalking a teacher he once dated.

• By Jessica Davis
• April 11, 2019

Mansfield Schools Superintendent Teresa Murphy said Tuesday that district officials have addressed safety and security problems raised by a man who, according to police, entered two schools after hours while stalking a teacher he once dated.

According to reports, the suspect allegedly entered the campuses of Qualters Middle School and Mansfield High School on multiple occasions between March 29 and April 4. The suspect was stalking a Qualters teacher who broke up with him last autumn.

Custodians at the two campuses encountered the suspect inside the buildings after hours and told him to leave, but prosecutors said that on one occasion, he re-entered the high school and hid from them. According to a police report, the suspect was alone inside the high school for multiple hours on March 29 and set off an alarm upon leaving.

Murphy told The Sun Chronicle that the suspect had “identified a vulnerability in each building and we have addressed it.”

“We will be even more vigilant during after-school hours at restricting access to sections of the building that are not in use and be diligent with door security,” Murphy said.

Murphy said school officials work with the police department on security procedures and protocols that are “constantly being reviewed and revised.”

The school department is currently completing security projects for which the town appropriated $328,000, Murphy said. The security upgrades include visitor management software, an exterior electronic door entry system, more security cameras and a PA system. The schools may also add visitor vestibules.

Murphy said the school department recently applied for an $80,000 grant through the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to fund other security changes.

The stalking suspect was identified after officials issued a flier with photos from security cameras, asking anyone who could to identify the man wandering the halls of the schools. The teacher allegedly being stalked came forward and identified him, according to a police report.

The suspect pleaded innocent to stalking and breaking and entering Monday in court. He is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.