Prosecutors have identified three more children who say they were abused by Robert Magoon at the Pines Community Center in Northfield, and indicated Tuesday that more could be coming.
In addition, they said the center tried and failed last summer to stop Magoon from interacting with children or entering its game room, where four employees now say they saw him sitting with young girls on his lap in recent months.
Magoon, a custodian at the Pines and a former police officer, faces six charges in all, including five felony counts of aggravated sexual assault. He’s accused of groping four young girls at the center over the past two years, and of kissing an older child there last summer.
At a bail hearing Tuesday in Concord, Assistant County Attorney Marriane Ouellet said three more children came forward after Magoon’s arrest last week, and that interviews with additional children were scheduled for later this week.
Elaborating on remarks from a colleague last week, Ouellet said Magoon was investigated last July, and that afterward, Pines Executive Director Jim Doane directed him “to stay out of the game room and not have physical contact with the students.”
But four employees, including a program coordinator, have told investigators in recent days that they saw Magoon, now 73, in the room since then, seated with girls on his lap. One of them said Magoon even tried to kiss her years ago, Ouellet said.
Doane did not return messages Tuesday seeking comment. He said last week that the center only learned of the current investigation on May 12, but declined to share much else out of fear of tainting the ongoing investigation.
Ouellet said Magoon has spoken with authorities and acknowledged interacting with the children, but maintained that the girls on his lap were coloring only. He has said he exchanged gifts with some of the children, according to Ouellet.
Magoon, who appeared in court Tuesday, has yet to publicly respond to the allegations. He has been assigned a pair of public defenders. They said Tuesday that they had not yet begun researching the case.
Magoon remains at Merrimack County jail, where he’s being held on $150,000 cash bail. He called off a probable cause hearing Tuesday, in which a judge would have determined whether enough evidence exists to proceed to trial.
Magoon left law enforcement three decades ago, after serving as a police officer in both Franklin and Concord. Neither department has disclosed the circumstances of his departures or released any personnel records from his tenure. Attorneys said Tuesday that he has no criminal record.
(Jeremy Blackman can be reached at 369-3319, jblackman@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JBlackmanCM.)