WORCESTER – A former female sex ed teacher at North Central Charter Essential School in Fitchburg was arraigned in Worcester Superior Court Friday afternoon on charges she raped a 14-year-old male student multiple times.

Rachelle Gendron, 27, of 4 Sheridan St., Fitchburg, was indicted on charges of enticement of a child under 16-years-old and five counts of rape aggravated by age difference, said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.’s spokesman Timothy J. Connolly. The charges carry a state mandated 10-year sentence.

Gendron appeared in court handcuffed and crying. She was still crying as she signed paperwork for her $2,000 cash bail in the clerk magistrate’s office afterward.

She has been fired from her job at the school, where she worked as a health and sex education teacher for five years.

“As a result of the investigation she is no longer working there,” Riddle said.

Gendron pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the indictments in the clerk’s office, Gendron had sex with the boy three times in October of 2012, once in January and again in March of 2013. Sometime from April to March she enticed the boy, one indictment alleged.

Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle requested a $5,000 bail. Defense attorney Andrea Levy asked for no bail on the promise Gendron return for her next court day Oct. 10. Judge James R. Lemire settled on $2,000.

Gendron is not allowed to contact the victim, not allowed to teach or have contact with children under 16-years-old, and must abide by a harassment order issued in Fitchburg District Court.

Fitchburg Police Department detectives David Daigle and Sgt. Ernest Martineau attended the arraignment but did not comment.

Investigators conducted forensic studies on Gendron and the victim’s cell phones, Riddle said. The investigation uncovered text messages between teacher and student “in various states of undress with genitals and breasts exposed,” according to Riddle.

The student is no longer enrolled at the school, according to principal Stephanie Davolos.

The school issued a statement following the arraignment.

“The North Central Charter Essential School’s highest priority is the safety and well-being of our students, and we are both shocked and concerned by the allegations against the former employee in question,” the statement said. “Upon first learning of those allegations, we took prompt and appropriate action consistent with the best interests of our students, which included swiftly terminating the individual and fully cooperating with law enforcement authorities investigating this matter.”

Gendron has no prior criminal record, according to a courtroom clerk.

After the arraignment, Gendron’s attorney said her client “maintains her innocence and intends to defend” herself in court.

Gendron’s father declined to comment on the charges.

Gendron began teaching at the school n 2008. A graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., Gendron earned her B.A. in English and studio art (Summa Cum Laude).

Gendron is a sister of Phi Beta Kappa and “enjoys sleeping late, singing opera, healthy excess and anything ‘impractical,'” according to an online profile.

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