STOW (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) A Massachusetts teen has been accused of several violent crimes and is ordered to house arrest, but he's still allowed to attend school. Many parents are voicing their concern after they were not notified of the teen's continued presence in the school.
The situation began in Sudbury on Bent Road. Six teens ended up charged with multiple felonies in Framingham District Court after an alleged robbery of a drug dealer that went wrong.
Two 17-year-olds from Stow who were accused in the crime, Zachary Gross and Lucas Estabrook, are still enrolled at Nashoba Regional High School even though Gross is currently wearing a court-ordered GPS monitoring device.
It wasn't until after an article was published in the Stow Independent local paper that Superintendent Michael Wood alerted parents. Wood did so through an e-mail where he referenced the Massachusetts state law, which reads in-part:
"The principal of a school in which the student is enrolled may suspend a student for a period if the principal determines that the student's presence in school would have a substantial detrimental effect on the general welfare of the school."
Some parents disagree.
"Students are suspended without the benefit of the court of law routinely that is not a part of the process in determining if a student will be suspended," says one parent.
Wood did not respond to FOX 25's repeated attempts to contact him.
In Wood's e-mail to parents, he justifies his decision by writing, "First, I will tell you they are safe. Nothing is impairing their ability to get a great eduation. Secondly, we are modeling an important principle of our judicial system: you are not guilty until a jury of your peers says so. And third, we have to observe the law."
