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Former Sub's Sex Charge Triggers Policy Re-examination

Duxbury, Vermont -- June 4, 2007

The alleged rape of a middle school student by her former substitute teacher has triggered re-examination of the district's hiring policies.

At issue is a state law that permits hiring substitute teachers fresh from high school and putting them in the classroom with no training required.

People are shocked and they're trying to understand what's happening," said  Robert McNamara, Superintendent of the Washington West Supervisory School Union. 

McNamara says the Harwood Union High School community was shocked when Jeremy Mullins, 18, appeared last week at the Barre District Court to be charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Mullins is a Harwood Union grad and Eagle Scout who met the girl when he substitute-taught in her classes at the school last winter.

But Mullins was not  a substitute when the alleged sex assault happened. School officials removed his name from the substitute list and contacted child protective authorities in March after receiving unconfirmed reports that Mullins had improperly contacted the girl on the internet.

"At that point in time what we did was we took him off the substitute list so that he was substituting at no schools in our district," said McNamara.

Even though he was dropped as a substitute, police say Mullins maintained contact with the girl.

Police say Jeremy Mullins met the girl across the street from the high school on the evening of April 7,  the night of a school play. That was three weeks after he'd been removed from the substitute teachers' list. They say he then drove her to a parking lot across the street from the school where she was sexually assaulted.

School officials say by law any high school grad with a clean background check can be a substitute in Vermont, even 18-year-olds,  but Harwood Union officials are now reconsidering their substitute policy.

"At this point in time, what we did, we took him off of the sub list so that he was substituting in no schools in our district," said McNamara.

Jeremy Mullins denied the charges of sexual assault on a child. He is free on conditions pending trial.

Brian Joyce -- WCAX News