NH teacher charged with raping student avoids jail

NASHUA, N.H.—A former high school teacher accused of raping a student has avoided jail time as part of a plea agreement.

Kevin Goddu, who taught social studies Timberlane Regional High School, was charged with 14 counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault last year, but his trial ended in a hung jury in November.

He pleaded guilty Thursday in Hillsborough County Superior Court to two misdemeanor simple assault charges, admitting he engaged in sexual acts with the girl when she was 16. He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years if he stays out of trouble.

He won't have to register as a sex offender, report to a probation officer or spend any time behind bars as long as he stays out of trouble. He also can never teach again.

The girl and her parents submitted statements at Goddu's sentencing calling him evil, despicable and a disgrace to the teaching profession.

Goddu, 46, of Chelmsford, Mass., had been free on bail since his arrest in 2006.

The girl testified Goddu had befriended her in ninth grade, and groomed her with flattery and personal confidences over the next two years. She said she agreed to meet Goddu for lunch at the Rockingham Mall in Salem, but that he instead drove her to Hudson in 2006 and raped her.

Goddu admitted to having sex with the girl, but said she had seduced him and the sex was consensual.

Though he won't have to register as a sex offender, Goddu will be required to undergo evaluation as a sex offender and abide by any recommended treatment. He also will be required to submit a form to the New Hampshire Department of Education giving up his teacher's certification, and his sentencing order states that he "cannot work as a teacher again."

The girl and her parents had planned to attend the hearing but were unable because of illness, said Assistant County Attorney Patricia LaFrance.

LaFrance read statements from the girl and her parents aloud in court. The girl and her parents said they were outraged by Goddu's violation of their trust. They also wrote about their sorrow that some students and families blamed her for Goddu losing his job.

"Our daughter's stellar reputation has been dragged through the mud as if we are still living in the 1950s. We have experienced some of the worst of human nature," her parents wrote, describing Goddu as "despicable," "narcissistic" and "evil," as well as a disgrace to his profession.

"Imagine that a criminal, an employee, was locked in the school with the students that he was entrusted to protect," they wrote. "Then this teacher used his position, influence, power and authority over time to take advantage of our daughter ... and commit an unspeakable crime against her."

They said the girl now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and her once outstanding academic performance has suffered.

"Growing up, I was always taught that I should be able to trust my teachers, however, this teacher crushed the boundary between teacher and student," the girl wrote.

"He is a textbook sexual predator," she wrote. "After he had gained my trust he began telling me that I could not trust any of my friends, and that I was mature for my age. ... He told me that my parents were too hard on me, and that he knew best. He told me that women had always broken his heart, that he was always a loner. ... He played on my emotions and caused me to pity him so that he could further isolate and manipulate me.

"I was like his puppet," she wrote. "I lost everything that I was."

After school officials heard rumors of a relationship between Goddu and the girl, Goddu tried to persuade the girl to lie about what had happened, she wrote.

"He tried to use me to cover up his predatory behavior. This disgusts me, and I refuse to hide the monster he truly is. The nightmare he put me through has taken away almost two years of my life ... forever," she wrote, adding later, "He is a monster, a predator and an adult who should have known better, an adult who wanted a 16-year-old girl to take responsibility for his actions."

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Information from: The Telegraph, http://www.nashuatelegraph.com