A former custodian at Lebanon Elementary School has been charged with sexual assault in New Hampshire around 2000 or 2001, six years before he began work at the school.

John Turcotte, 33, of Dover, N.H. was indicted in October by a Strafford County, New Hampshire, grand jury on charges of felonious sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault, for allegedly assaulting a girl between the ages of 12 and 16 in some woods in Milton, N.H., in 2000 or 2001, said Meghan Hagaman, assistant Strafford County Attorney.

On Monday, Turcotte agreed to bail of $5,000 and was allowed to remain free. He does not have a court date scheduled, Hagaman said.

Turcotte worked as a second shift custodian at Lebanon Elementary School, which has about 450 students, from September 2007 until April this year, said Steve Connolly, superintendent of MSAD 60, which includes Lebanon. In an email, Connolly said that Turcotte “was never in charge of or in a supervisory role for any students.”

Turcotte had not been charged until October, so the incident was not on his record when he was hired by the school district, and Connolly said Turcotte met all state hiring requirements. There were no allegations of misconduct against Turcotte while he worked at the school, Connolly said.

Hagaman said the alleged victim only recently came forward to report the incident.

Ray Routhier can be contacted at 791-6454 or at:

rrouthier@pressherald.com.

Twitter: @RayRouthier

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