Details emerge in Morgan Frawley's case

Morgan V. Frawley, 25, of Fairfield, was arrested in October on a charge of risk of injury to a minor after police said she had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy who belonged to her youth group at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, Conn. less Morgan V. Frawley, 25, of Fairfield, was arrested in October on a charge of risk of injury to a minor after police said she had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy who belonged to her youth group at ... more Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Details emerge in Morgan Frawley's case 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An affidavit issued days before Morgan Frawley's arrest in October shows the former church youth group leader exchanged multiple sexually explicit photos and text messages with a 15-year-old boy.

The victim's father, however, told his family's attorney that he did not want to pursue a criminal investigation because his son's involvement with Frawley "was a romance like Romeo and Juliet," according to the Oct. 16 affidavit.

On Oct. 25, Frawley was arrested on a charge of risk of injury to a minor after police said she had sexual relations with the boy while working part time at the Congregational Church of New Canaan.

The boy's parents contacted church officials in April after finding sexually explicit images and texts on their son's cellphone. The New Canaan Police Department obtained records from both Frawley's and the victim's cellphones. Some of those texts show Frawley and the boy saying they loved each other.

"You make me feel so loved, so supported, and so appreciated," Frawley, who was 24 at the time, said to the boy in an April 15 text message.

The affidavit shows Frawley lives with a boyfriend in Fairfield. In one message, Frawley said her situation was "messy" because she was trying to date two people.

When Sgt. Carol Ogrinc learned about the "Romeo and Juliet" comment, she told the family's attorney, Mark Sherman, she had an obligation to investigate further because Frawley was a teacher, the document shows. Frawley was an eighth-grade substitute teacher at Tomlinson Middle School in Fairfield. She was let go by the school in late April, immediately after school officials learned of the allegations against her, the document shows.

Ogrinc wrote in the affidavit that a forensic analyst, who searched Frawley's laptop, determined the former teacher sent photos of herself to the boy in "suggestive poses while either partially clothed or fully nude."

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"There are several photos of her wearing woman's (sic) lingerie in sexually suggestive positions," Ogrinc wrote in the affidavit.

In the conclusion of the affidavit, Ogrinc wrote that she believed "Frawley and the juvenile victim were involved in a sexual relationship and engaged in sexual intercourse." Based on the text messages, Ogrinc believes that Frawley had been at the boy's residence and had sex, the affidavit shows.

Frawley had been working part time at the Congregational Church of New Canaan for two years and she was not a member of the church, according to church officials. In February 2013, about 150 youth group students, including Frawley and the boy, took a trip to Puerto Rico.

According to the document, the church's senior pastor Harold Masbeck told the Department of Children and Families he received a call on April 23 from the teen's father, who told him he believed his son was involved in a romantic relationship with the youth group team leader. He told Masbeck that Frawley had sent his son "numerous inappropriate and sexually suggestive pictures on a device," the affidavit shows. The victim's father said his son told him he thought he was in love with Frawley and that he had been receiving frequent texts and pictures of Frawley while he was at school, according to the document. Masbeck then told the boy's father that Frawley would be suspended from the youth group, the document shows.

According to the affidavit, a therapist for the victim's family called the DCF on April 22. The therapist, Paula Leby, said the boy's mother told her she found more than 100 pictures of Frawley on her son's cellphone.

A protective order prohibiting contact with the teen boy was issued against Frawley on Nov. 5. In December, she applied for accelerated rehabilitation. Her next court date is Thursday, Jan. 23.

If the court approves her application, Frawley will be placed on probation for up to two years. If the conditions of the probation are completed, the charges will be dismissed.

noliveira@bcnnew.com, 203-330-6582, @olivnelson