WATERVILLE — Superintendent Eric Haley is recommending that Waterville Senior High School Principal Don Reiter be fired because he asked a female student to have sex with him, Haley’s attorney told the Waterville Board of Education on Tuesday night.

Addressing the board during a public dismissal hearing at George J. Mitchell School, Melissa Hewey said the evidence will show that Reiter called the girl into his office on Aug. 27, closed the door, sat down next to her and asked, “ ‘Can you keep a secret?’ ” Hewey said. “ ‘Yes,’ she replied.”

Don Reiter

Hewey said Reiter then told the girl: “ ‘Every year I choose one student to have sex with, and this year, I’ve picked you.’ ”

The student was shocked, didn’t know how to react and wondered if it was a joke, Hewey said.

She said the evidence will show that Reiter told the girl he had never been turned down before. He has been principal since 2007.

He also told her, when she tried to leave his office, that she would not graduate from the school, Hewey said.

“ ‘If you tell anyone what happened here, I will make sure you never graduate from Waterville High School and never get your GED,’ ” Hewey quoted the student as telling officials later about an alleged threat by Reiter.

However, Reiter’s attorney, Gregg Frame, said the evidence will show the allegations are false and that the situation never happened. Frame said there is no corroboration and nothing in Reiter’s history that indicates he would do what the girl alleges. The principal has an unblemished record and was railroaded in this case, Frame said.

He told the board that the student was not on track to graduate and Reiter was trying to help her.

He said when Reiter called the student to his office that day, he closed the door to have a conversation, as he had done countless times before.

“I was a teacher for five years,” said Frame, a Waterville Senior High School graduate. “What Don went through is everyone who works with kids worst nightmare. There’s no template for him to react.”

Frame was referring to what Hewey said was Reiter’s version of what happened in the office – that the student placed her hand on Reiter’s thigh and said, “I find you very attractive.”

“It’s important to note that Don immediately stopped the conversation and reported it immediately to a supervisor,” Frame said. “That’s what you’re supposed to do.”

Frame said Reiter, who has been on paid administrative leave since Sept. 1, is an outstanding principal and the school has thrived under his leadership.

Frame said the board would hear Hewey say it’s unusual for a principal to deal with an issue involving a student – that it’s the guidance counselor who does that. But Reiter, he said, addresses issues with students on a daily basis and always is willing to meet with students and parents.

Frame said witnesses for Reiter at the dismissal hearing will be those who work with him, while the accuser’s witnesses are students, her boyfriend and police officers.

“Listen to them, and listen to the people who work with Don Reiter every single day,” Frame urged the board.

Bryan Dench, attorney for the board, said state law requires certain information involving students to be confidential, which is one reason why the board decided to go into executive session. Board members called it a night around 10 p.m. and will continue the closed-door meeting Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

RECOUNTING THE EVENTS

Some of the roughly 200 people in the audience Tuesday were teachers, secretaries and other staff at the high school, as well as police Detective Sgt. Bill Bonney, Detective David Caron, who led a separate investigation into the case, and Officer Damon Lefferts.

After the board heard opening statements and went into executive session, Councilor Nathaniel White, D-Ward 2, said the allegations against Reiter sounded out of character.

“Every educator’s nightmare is to have a student alone and be accused of something because they’re upset, and it sounds like this is one of those situations,” said White, who worked with Reiter when White was a substitute at the high school. “The lesson learned from this is, never be alone with a student.”

Billy Morton was sitting in the second row Tuesday night with his friend and fellow 2013 Waterville High graduate Thomas Turmelle. Both 21-year-olds are from Waterville.

“It’s a ‘he said, she said’ thing, but you wonder,” Morton said. “They said (Reiter) said he’s been doing this for years, so you wonder, why hasn’t anyone come out before and complained?”

After saying Haley recommended termination of Reiter’s contract for “engaging in inappropriate conduct with a female student at the high school,” Hewey described a timeline of events leading up to Tuesday’s hearing.

She said the female student and her mother visited Reiter to discuss an issue related to course credits. He referred them to a guidance counselor to work on the issue, and they did.

On Aug. 26, the student appeared at Reiter’s office and he told her she needed to see her guidance counselor before he could meet with her. She then left.

The next day, the first day of school, was also the day of opening ceremonies for the alternative school. Reiter has attended those ceremonies for years, Hewey said, and this year was to be no exception.

But Reiter abruptly changed his mind and sent Assistant Principal Brian Laramee to the alternative school opening ceremonies, Hewey said.

TWO OTHER INVESTIGATIONS DONE

Reiter, Hewey said, then called the female student out of class and into his office. When she arrived, he got out from behind his desk and closed the door, sat down next to her, looked at her and then asked if she could keep a secret, Hewey said.

Haley and Assistant Superintendent Peter Thiboutot conducted an in-house investigation of the case, interviewing about 20 people. Police conducted a separate investigation and sent their report to the Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office. District Attorney Maeghan Maloney said she will wait until after the school board hearing to decide what to do about the case.

“They (Haley and Thiboutot) have concluded, based upon what they know about Mr. Reiter, that being the person he is, his story just doesn’t make sense, and what the student says is what happened in that room that way,” Hewey said.

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