Teacher Sentenced for Online Abuse

A former science teacher from Boston, John Gavin, has been sentenced to ten years in federal prison for a series of serious offenses involving minors. The judge found that Gavin had used his position to lure at least one underage girl into sexual conversations over the internet. He also demanded that she send him illegal images of herself, which led to additional convictions for possession and receipt of child pornography. During the investigation, authorities discovered that Gavin owned a Discord account used to contact more than twenty girls aged between twelve and seventeen. These contacts were spread across the United States, as well as in Canada and the United Kingdom. In many of these chats, Gavin talked about his sexual interest in students he taught and even admitted to fantasizing about a freshman at the school where he worked.Evidence seized from his Brookline home included nearly one hundred and fifty files on his phone, showing both pictures and videos of child sexual abuse. Forensic analysts confirmed that the material involved minors as young as five years old, and included acts of rape against both girls and boys. Gavin’s misconduct began while he was teaching at Josiah Quincy Upper School, where he engaged in sexualized conversations with students during class time. Earlier in his career, he had worked at the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School and within the Brookline Public Schools system, but it was his time in Boston that led to the federal charges. After being arrested by local police in February, Gavin faced multiple counts: enticing a child under sixteen, possession of child pornography, and other related offenses. The federal court ultimately sentenced him to ten years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.