A former maintenance supervisor is facing new charges accusing him of groping two more girls and sexually assaulting an adult woman with special needs at the Northfield community center where he worked.
Robert Magoon, 74, a Tilton resident who previously worked as a police officer in Concord and Franklin, was indicted on 15 counts by a grand jury last week. All of the acts allegedly took place at the Pines Community Center in Northfield, where Magoon was employed as maintenance supervisor for 13 years before his termination and arrest in May.
Magoon was already accused of molesting four girls and kissing another at the center.
The charges, handed down by a Merrimack County Superior Court grand jury last week, involve eight alleged victims. Six of the aggravated felonious sexual assault charges involve five girls, now ages 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, and accuse Magoon of “pattern sexual assault” between August 2012 and May 2016.
One felonious sexual assault charge alleges that Magoon groped a girl, now 9, between August and December 2015, and another simple assault charge accuses him of kissing a girl, now 14, between June and August 2015.
Two charges of attempted aggravated felonious sexual assault and five charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault involve a now-29-year-old woman with special needs between January 2013 and April 2014.
During Magoon’s two initial court appearances, prosecutors said some of the acts took place during the Pines’s before- and after- school programs, when Magoon had children sitting on his lap.” Magoon told authorities he held kids on his lap, but he said they were only coloring.
Prosecutors said Magoon also said he had exchanged gifts with some of the girls.
The newest charges accuse Magoon of assaulting an adult who “has a disability that renders her incapable of freely arriving at an independent choice as to whether or not to engage in sexual conduct.”
Magoon performed oral sex on the 29-year-old and tried to have her perform oral sex on him, according to the indictments.
Magoon is being held at Merrimack County jail on $150,000 bail. If he posts bail, he will have to wear an electronic tracking device and abide by other conditions, including staying away from the community center, the accusers and anyone under 18.
Phone calls to Merrimack County Attorney Scott Murray and Magoon’s attorney, public defender Catherine Flinchbaugh, were not returned Thursday.
Shortly after Magoon’s arrest in May, Pines executive director Jim Doane resigned. The position is still listed as open on the community center’s website.
Tilton-Northfield Recreation Council President Rose-Marie Welch said by phone Thursday that she thought Doane resigned at the end of May. This would have been shortly after he and other Pines staff attended a community meeting where parents accused the center of knowing about the alleged sexual abuse and doing nothing about it.
Welch said she needed to consult a lawyer before releasing Doane’s resignation letter.
Prosecutors said in court this spring that Pines staff had spoken with Magoon and tried to keep him from interacting with children and entering the game room in 2015, though four staff members said they saw him in the room shortly before his arrest.
Northfield police also said an investigation into Magoon was opened last year over sexual abuse accusations, and though no charges were brought forward at the time, the documents were folded into the more recent investigation.
Doane told parents and the press that he learned of the most recent investigation May 12, the day Magoon was fired.
In addition to finding a new executive director, Welch said the recreation council and Pines are taking numerous steps to move on.
“We’re just trying to put it behind us,” Welch said. “We’re just trying to serve two communities the best we can.”
Now, for instance, Pines is undergoing the state child-care center licensing process. It isn’t required because state law exempts child-care and recreation programs run by municipalities from licensing and inspections.
Even without a license, the Pines conducted criminal background checks for all of its employees.
Welch said the Pines also held another meeting with parents, provided more staff training, and increased security at the center with video cameras and additional door locks.
This fall, Welch added, the Department of Health and Human Services will lead another staff training session.
While 12 children were pulled from its summer programs, Welch said enrollment has stayed level with last summer.
“Our numbers have been as high as ever,” she said.
And while some parents have removed their children from the Pines and criticized the community center, others, Welch said, have joined a committee to raise money for program improvements and have offered to help with maintenance work.
“We’ve certainly gotten a lot of support from the community,” she said.
Town officials from Tilton and Northfield, which both usually contribute money to the nonprofit joint recreation council each year, said Thursday their select boards had met with Pines officials in July, and as a result, expected funding to continue as usual for the rest of 2016.
“The recreation council outlined in detail the steps they had taken to ensure the situation with Mr. Magoon does not happen again,” Northfield Town Administrator Glenn Smith said.
While 2016 is on track, he added, the issue would most likely arise again during the 2017 budgeting process.
(Elodie Reed can be reached at 369-3306, ereed@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @elodie_reed.)