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Massachusetts passed a law Thursday that makes it a crime for school staff to have sexual relations with 16- and 17-year-old students — a goal that advocates have chased for more than a decade.
Jennifer Cullen has been advocating for the law’s passage since 2024, when her 18-year-old nephew, Jacob Pothier of New Bedford, died in a car crash. The only other person in the car, 44-year-old Kathleen Martins, was critically injured.
Pothier’s relatives say the two were in a sexual relationship that began when Pothier was 16. At the time, Pothier was a student at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School, where Martins worked as a security guard. A lawsuit Pothier’s family filed against the school alleges Martins began grooming Pothier when he was 15.
Cullen told The Light that if the law had been in place before Pothier’s death, it may have given him a “fighting shot” at a different ending to his story. The law would have given the school the ability to intervene or even prevent his relationship with Martins, Cullen said.
“I think we all do this bargaining. Like, what if I did this? What if I did that?” Cullen said. “Sadly, that’s our story, but I hope this won’t be others’.”
The legislation was unanimously adopted as an amendment to the Senate budget in May. It was then included in the conference committee report, which the House and Senate both passed on July 1.
“What we’ve done today, we have saved lives. We have saved lifetimes of lives,” Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, said when the Senate passed the conference committee budget. “This is the biggest accomplishment that we’ve done in this chamber in a very long time.”
Lovely has been the driving force behind the legislation since 2015.
Under the law, school staff who have a sexual relationship with a 16- or 17-year-old whom they have authority over, or previously had authority over, could face up to 20 years in prison. School staff who commit indecent assault and battery — sexual touching — could face up to 10 years in prison. Offenders would also be registered as sex offenders.
The law explicitly says that minors under 18 cannot legally consent in these situations. It includes a “Romeo and Juliet” exception for relationships in which the adult is no more than four years older than the minor.
South Coast lawmakers respond
All six of New Bedford’s lawmakers support the law, though Rep. Christopher Markey, D-Dartmouth, opposed earlier versions of legislation. At the time, he argued that it conflicted with the state’s age-of-consent laws.
He had also raised concerns about previous versions of the legislation that targeted any adult in a “position of trust, authority or supervision over a child.”
“It was almost like a subjective determination of who could be a defendant or not,” Markey said, adding that he’s satisfied with the final law because it specifically applies to mandated reporters. “Now we have identifiable people who could be defendants.”
Mandated reporters are people who are legally required to report suspected abuse or neglect. The definition includes “a person paid to care for or work with a child in any public or private facility.” Montigny’s general counsel, Audra Riding, told The Light in May that she believes the definition, and the new law, apply to school security guards.
Although lawmakers have framed the law as protection for students, it will also apply outside of schools, to any mandated reporter, including medical professionals, public safety officers, and clergy members.
Rep. Mark Sylvia, D-Fairhaven, said he hopes the law’s passage sends the message that “the behavior and those tragic incidents that have happened cannot and will no longer be tolerated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
As a freshman representative, Sylvia said he doesn’t have the historical context to speculate why the law stalled for so many years on Beacon Hill. But he said its passage is a testament to the advocates’, victims’ and lawmakers’ yearslong fight.
“My heart goes out to the families that have been impacted, and it is my hope that this law will be an important step in the right direction to ensure that this doesn’t happen again,” Sylvia said.
In a press release that mentioned Pothier, Sen. Mark Montigny said he’s “thankful” that the legislation was finally signed into law, but that it’s “unconscionable” that it took so long. Montigny co-sponsored the budget amendment and similar legislation in previous sessions.
“No one allowed to work with children, whether paid or unpaid, should ever be allowed to skirt responsibility for this egregious, criminal conduct,” Montigny said. “The insidious actions by groomers often begin the victimization of children at a shockingly young age.”
Rep. Steven Ouellette, D-Westport, told The Light that he supports the law. Having worked in schools for 30 years, he said he knows these precautionary steps need to be in place. Ouellette, along with Sylvia, co-sponsored a related House bill this session. The House bill closely mirrored the Senate budget amendment, but didn’t move past the House Ways and Means Committee.
Rep. Christopher Hendricks, D-New Bedford, referred The Light to his previous comments on the legislation. In May, he said he “absolutely” supports the legislation, but argued that the best way to address the issue is to raise the age of consent to 18.
In a written statement to The Light, Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral said the law’s passage “marks a meaningful step forward for child safety in Massachusetts.”
“This measure reflects our continued commitment to closing loopholes and ensuring that no trusted adult is exempt from accountability,” Cabral said, noting that he sponsored legislation in 2002 that added clergy members to the state’s list of mandated reporters.
Looking forward
The fight for child protections on Beacon Hill is not over.
The House passed a child welfare bill in October, and the Senate passed its own version unanimously in June. The two chambers formed a conference committee and have until the end of the year to develop a compromise bill.
Advocates are eyeing three bills currently before the House or Senate Ways and Means committees: one aimed at preventing sexual misconduct in schools through training requirements and a stricter review in their hiring process; another that would eliminate the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases; and a third addressing child sexual abuse material, formerly known as child pornography.
With July 31 — the Legislature’s self-imposed deadline to move bills into a conference committee — quickly approaching, these bills are likely to die in committee this session.
Markey has other legislation in mind. Although he is running for District Attorney and will not be on Beacon Hill next session, he hopes the Legislature will direct more funding to child advocacy centers — organizations designed to reduce stress for victims and non-offending family members during child abuse investigations.
“Child advocacy centers have really transformed the way investigations are done, from physical evidence all the way through to the emotional scars that people have as a result of the abuse,” Markey said. “It has been a savior for the prosecutions of cases, and I think it’s been a savior for the victims or survivors of abuse.”
For now, Cullen is waiting to see how the law plays out before deciding whether to continue her advocacy work.
“I think [our family is] treading lightly because we don’t know how it’ll play out, and we’re realistic people,” Cullen said, noting that the family is optimistic. “At least the safety net is there and is a protection for kids who have contact with people who are predators.”
Jamie Perkins is a graduate student in journalism covering state government for The Light as a summer intern. Email them at jperkins@newbedfordlight.org.
