Police: Youth group leader had sexual relationship with teen

New Canaan Police said Morgan V. Frawley, who was a youth group leader at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male. New Canaan Police said Morgan V. Frawley, who was a youth group leader at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Police: Youth group leader had sexual relationship with teen 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A 25-year-old church youth group leader and former substitute teacher was arrested on a charge of risk of injury to a minor after police said she had a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy.

Morgan V. Frawley, of 272 Soundview Ave., Fairfield, turned herself in to police Oct. 25 after learning of a warrant for her arrest. Frawley posted $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Norwalk Superior Court Nov. 5.

The boy's parents contacted officials at the Congregational Church of New Canaan after they found sexually explicit images and texts on their son's cell phone, according to New Canaan Police Sgt. Carol Ogrinc.

Former Congregational Church of New Canaan Senior Minister Harold "Skip" Masback reported the relationship to the state Department of Children and Families after he was notified by the boy's parents, Interim Senior Minister Anne Coffman said.

DCF learned about the incident on April 23 and contacted New Canaan police that same day, regarding reports that Frawley was having an inappropriate sexual relationship with the 15-year-old male.

Clergy members are required to report any allegations of child abuse to authorities. DCF found reason to turn the case over to police.

In April, the church suspended Frawley, who was 24 at the time, from her role as a youth group leader after allegations of the sexual relationship were made, Coffman said.

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Frawley had been employed on a part-time basis for two years, Coffman said, and she was not a member of the church.

Attorney Mark Sherman, who is representing the teenager and his family, denies that the two individuals were engaged in a sexual relationship.

"The charges, or lack thereof, speak for themselves," he wrote in an emailed statement. "Since the beginning of this investigation, the family has taken all steps necessary to protect my client's privacy and welfare. They are ready to put this behind them and move on with their lives."

Frawley was a long-term substitute teacher in the Fairfield school district, Ogrinc said. Fairfield police have no records of criminal activity in town.

For confidentiality reasons, Coffman said, parishioners and youth group members were not notified of the situation, and she herself was not told about it until after she started work there about six weeks ago.

"Churchgoers are shocked and saddened," Coffman said. "Youth group is such a wonderful program and such a source of joy in the community. This is tragic. Everyone's prayers are going out to the family."

The senior minister at the time, Masback, declined to answer questions, referring all inquiries to Coffman. Masback left the New Canaan Congregational Church on Aug. 31, and works now as the managing director at the Yale Center for Faith & Culture and as the director of the Adolescent Faith and Flourishing Program at the Yale Divinity School. He served at the Congregational Church for 19 years.

There is no reason to believe there are other victims, both Ogrinc and Coffman said. Ogrinc also said there is no reason to believe any sexual conduct took place on church grounds or on youth group service trips.

The youth group at the Congregational Church is something of an institution in New Canaan. More than 200 students between grades nine and 12 of various denominations participated in the group last year, with 148 of them attending a service project in Puerto Rico in February 2013. During the mission, members helped renovate and repair Hogar Posada la Victoria, a women's drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in the inland district of Toa Alta, on the outskirts of the urban sprawl of San Juan.

The 148 kids were joined by 35 adults, who helped oversee the trip and provided logistical help, one of whom was Frawley.

Aaron Krasner, adolescent teen living program service chief at Silver Hill Hospital, said the victim's gender doesn't matter.

"Any sex between an adult and a minor is by definition non-consensual," Krasner said. "Yes, there's a sense that some boys perhaps might be less easily victimized in a heterosexual encounter with an adult female, but the fact remains he's not of the age of consent."

Krasner said the degree of psychological effects from the relationship would depend on its specifics.

"Sexual development for a young man can be complicated by precocious sex with an older woman, but the degree and fallout from the encounter is dependent on a case-by-case basis," he said.

He added that the gender of the victim could make a difference in the psychological harm. Because society seems to view the role of male and female sexual activity differently, a male victim and a female victim could experience similar encounters differently. If an encounter is less aggressive or coercive, he said, it could have fewer or less severe psychological harm. Otherwise, similar encounters where girls are the victims could be more coercive and aggressive, he said.

"The difference could be in the psychological fallout from the encounter. For instance, the likelihood of developing PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) from an aggressive rape is pretty high. If you are initiating the sex and you don't perceive it as a Criterion A stressor, then the likelihood of developing PTSD might be less, emphasizing the `might,' pending the details of the case," Krasner said.

Alissa Nutting's novel, "Tampa" made a stir in the literary world this summer, in its description of a sexual relationship between an eighth grade boy and his 26-year-old teacher. Nutting, who is also an associate professor at John Carroll University, in Ohio, said that she found in her research the descriptions in the media of sexual assault cases where the victim was a boy to be very different from descriptions where the genders were reversed.

"I think our society in general has an inability to view female sexuality toward males as predatory, even if they're underage," she said. "What I would find in reporting was all kinds of additional information included that were reasons or equivocations for why the woman wasn't as responsible as a man in that situation would be... Psychologically, I don't think it's ever beneficial for someone who is supposed to be a safe person to breach these boundaries. I think that does open up a lot of issues. If and when it's made public, that's a whole bag of worms for someone very young to have to deal with."

Nutting added that since society does view the gender roles differently, so might the woman in a case such as this.

"Women get the same cultural messages that men do, so I could easily see this woman thinking, `This isn't as big a deal as if I were a man and this were a 15-year-old girl,' and, `I'm not forcing him to do anything he doesn't want to do,' and, `He's going to feel like this is a positive experience,'"

Frawley was a 2010 graduate of Sacred Heart University, where she studied mathematics. Her Facebook page was deactivated some time Monday between 8 and 10 a.m., but her last public activity before it was deleted was the addition of a profile picture on April 27, four days after DCF contacted the New Canaan police. She was also had a profile on the babysitting website, sittercity.com, on which she advertised her availability for childcare. Her profile stated she was qualified to care for children of all ages, and had expertise in babysitting children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. Her rate was $10 to $15 per hour.

Frawley did not answer the door to her home this afternoon. The blinds on nearly all the windows of the home were drawn. In the back of the house, a blanket or carpet blocked view into the house from a glass door, and a flag holder attached to the front of the home was empty, while an American flag was wrapped up and leaned against a bench in a foyer between the storm door and the front door. A black Lexus SUV was parked in the driveway.

A message left on the answering machine of a phone number believed to belong to Frawley's parents was not returned.

twoods@bcnnew.com; 203-330-6582; @Woods_NCNews