Norfolk County prosecutors have dropped their case against a former Brookline teacher accused of sexually abusing an underage student, citing the alleged victim’s unwillingness to testify.
Larry Chen, 40, was expected to stand trial this week on a slew of charges, including indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old, statutory child rape, and rape of a child with force. Yet in a Wednesday nolle prosequi filing first reported by Brookline.News, prosecutors said they were unable to go forward.
“Although the victim maintains that her statements to investigators were true, she has requested that the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office not compel her to testify at this time,” the filing states. “The District Attorney’s Office is willing and ready to go forward with this matter. Without the victim’s testimony, however, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office is unable to proceed.”
Chen’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment Friday morning.
Prosecutors alleged Chen, a Newton resident, was in his early 30s when he first assaulted a then-12-year-old student in his social studies class at the Heath School, since renamed the Roland Hayes School. She alleged the abuse continued between 2016 and 2018, the same year Chen resigned from the Public Schools of Brookline.
The sexual assault allegations came to light in 2022, when the former student told investigators Chen began abusing her when she was in the sixth grade.
According to prosecutors, the school’s principal also told authorities there was an “ongoing issue” with Chen having inappropriate boundaries with students, and that administrators often had to remind Chen to keep his classroom door open when meeting with students after school. Another teacher who shared a classroom wall with Chen said she noticed the door connecting their rooms had been “wholly barricaded” after Chen had asked her whether she could hear what was going on in his classroom, prosecutors alleged in a court filing.
Chen denied the sexual abuse allegations and pleaded not guilty.
He had made waves in Brookline even before his arrest, having been fired in 2015 over allegations that he swore in front of students. The district reinstated Chen following outcry from students and parents, but he landed in hot water again in 2018 over his decision to allow students to play the video game Halo 3 in school. While similar public outcry ensued and Chen defended his decision in a public statement, he ultimately resigned from his post that year.
Brookline police said Chen operated a tutoring business at the time of his 2022 arrest, School beyond School LLC.
While Wednesday’s nolle prosequi filing puts an end to Chen’s criminal case, a recent Brookline School Committee agenda suggests civil action could be down the road. The alleged victim sent a “pre-suit claim” to the school district regarding Chen’s purported abuse, according to the agenda for the Sept. 18 committee meeting.
Committee members met in executive session to discuss the matter behind closed doors.