Bristol Aggie teacher facing trial for indecent assault and battery

DIGHTON — A Bristol County Agricultural High School teacher is scheduled to go on trial next month on indecent assault and other charges related to his position as a staff member at the school, court records indicate.

Aaron Caswell, 39, of Fall River was previously arraigned in Taunton District Court on indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older; accosting or annoying another person; assault and battery; and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The date of the offense is listed as Sept. 30, 2018. The complaint, according to court documents, was issued in January.

Bristol Aggie superintendent Adele Sands acknowledges that a faculty member had previously been placed on paid administrative leave, but she declined to discuss details of the pending criminal case.

“Because it’s a personnel matter, I cannot discuss it,” said Sands, who has been superintendent since November 2017.

The police report is sealed.

But an affidavit document in the Caswell file, submitted in May by the lawyer representing the school — Michael Long of Long & DiPietro of Hingham — refers to the defendant as “an employee of B.C.A.S. currently on paid administrative leave while this matter is pending.”

“The school requires this information to assist in a determination of the defendant’s employment status,” the request for “leave of court to inspect and copy the referenced criminal file” states.

Caswell describes himself on his LinkedIn page as an instructor in the school’s Natural Resource Management program.

An anonymous caller, identifying himself as a concerned parent, had previously called the newsroom of The Taunton Daily Gazette with information about Caswell’s arraignment.

Caswell isn’t the only current or former school employee in Dighton who either is facing charges or is being investigated for allegations of inappropriate behavior toward a student or students.

The Gazette last month reported that a former staff member at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School is under investigation for inappropriate behavior toward at least one female student.

Both local police and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families acknowledge that they are investigating.

The school’s superintendent, Anthony Azar, said the employee in question, who had worked there for only a year, was no longer a D-R employee.