Plainfield

Court Documents Reveal Allegations Against Plainfield Teacher Accused of Inappropriate Relationships With Students

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A former Plainfield teacher and coach who is accused of having inappropriate relationships with students and former students appeared in court today and court documents reveal the allegations.

Craig McCue, 31, of North Stonington, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and seven counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Plainfield Police Department
Craig McCue

Police launched the Plainfield investigation in May when the parents of a 15-year-old former student of McCue’s contacted them, concerned about texts between their son and McCue, who they said also provided marijuana to the teen.

The parents also told police they were concerned that the 35-year-old man was going to the gym with a teenage student.

According to the arrest warrant application, some of the texts between McCue and the teen said they loved each other.  

Police went through the teen’s phone and said they found shirtless photos of him and a friend with McCue responding, “that’s kinda hot.”

According to police, McCue admitted to supplying marijuana to two teens, but told them that he and the teen were just friends.

McCue said that he’d kept in communication with his students over the summer through Google Chat after the schools went virtual and the teen reached out to him for some workout advice.

McCue also told police that he used to coach at Wheeler High School in Stonington, there had been allegations of an inappropriate comment and he was fired, court documents state.

But, he told police, he has good intentions and was 100-percent sure that there was nothing inappropriate going on between him and any of his students.

Court documents state another 15-year-old told police that McCue had touched his genitals and showed him his.

While police were investigating, they also learned of a prior Department of Children and Families investigation into allegations from four students between 14 and 15 years old from Wheeler High School in North Stonington who said McCue had talked to them about having sex with girls. One of the male students said McCue touched his leg while they were in the car and another said that McCue had commented on the size of his penis, according to court documents.

The arrest warrant application says McCue denied the allegations.  

McCue's attorney, Stephen McEleney, told the judge in court today that McCue maintains his innocence.

Judge John Newson called the allegations, "troubling" and et bond on each of the three files at $33,333 with a 10 percent surety and conditions.

Officials from North Stonington Public Schools said McCue was the assistant coach of the boys’ high school basketball team from Aug. 26, 2015 to Jan. 20, 2021.

They said they notified the school community about a situation regarding a coach who previously worked in the district and was arrested on suspicion of inappropriate conduct while the coach was teaching in another district.

North Stonington Supt. Peter Nero wrote that they were made aware in January of an inappropriate incident involving an athletic coach and the alleged incident occurred outside the school day, off school property and was not during a sanctioned school activity.

The coach was immediately terminated, the state Department of Children and Families was notified as were parents, and the school department has cooperated with police, DCF and the state Department of Education, Nero wrote.

School officials had no other comment because the investigation is ongoing.

McCue's attorney told the judge that McCue's parents would be able to help him post bond.

McEleney said he had no further comment.

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