The former dean of an exclusive Litchfield County prep school who is accused of sexually assaulted four students will go to trial rather that take a plea deal.
Robert Reinhardt, 45, was a dean at the Gunnery, an elite 159-year-old school in Washington, Connecticut until 2009, right after the allegations surfaced.
All the paperwork is sealed, so few details were provided.
But, in August, the parents of one student Reinhardt is accused of assaulting filed a lawsuit.
The suit said the assaults began in October 2007, a month after their 14-year-old son arrived at the school, and continued "repeatedly" until his parents pulled him out of school the following May 2009.
Reinhardt joined the faculty at The Gunnery in 1996 and was named dean in 2006. He also served as a dorm parent and coached the school's crew team. He resigned the dean's job last year shortly after allegations were made.
He has pleaded not guilty and appeared in court on Tuesday and chose a jury trial.
Local
“(H)istory tells us that just because there are allegations does not mean they are true,” his lawyer, William Dow III told the Journal Register.
Reinhardt now lives in Telford, Pennsylvania and remains free on $950,000 bail.
He was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and other crimes and is due back in court Sept. 10.
Reinhardt's lawyer, William Dow III, told The Register Citizen newspaper that the trial is likely to begin early next year.
