Northbridge school employee charged with child pornography

MASSACHUSETTS
Telegram & Gazette

By Susan Spencer
Telegram & Gazette Staff

An Uxbridge Cub Scout leader and instructional assistant at Northbridge High School was arrested following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on child pornography charges Thursday. Dozens of pornographic videos of children were found posted online from his home and school Internet service, authorities said.

Jason A. Andolina, 42, an Uxbridge resident who worked in Northbridge, appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Worcester before Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy. A preliminary detention hearing was set for Monday.

Northbridge Superintendent of Schools Catherine Stickney notified parents by automated phone call Thursday and posted a message on the district’s website, which reads in part: “Today, I was informed by law enforcement personnel, that an instructional assistant at Northbridge High School has been arrested for criminal conduct. We have been informed that his criminal conduct does not involve any students in the Northbridge Public Schools. After receiving this information, I immediately removed him from the workplace including restricting his access to school district buildings, grounds, and events. …

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston confirmed Mr. Andolina is a Cub Scout leader. A Telegram & Gazette article from 2015 lists Mr. Andolina as the Pinewood Derby chairman for Pack 25, which is chartered by St. Mary’s Church in Uxbridge.

The church office was closed Friday and no one was available for comment.

Raymond L. Delisle, communications director for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, said he could not comment on an individual’s criminal offender record information check, but said, “Our process is that anybody who is serving (at a parish) has to be CORI’d.”

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