A former St. Paul’s School humanities teacher terminated in 2008 for inappropriate behavior with a student has reached a plea deal with prosecutors and is scheduled to face a judge Friday.
David Pook, 48, of Warner was arrested by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in late February as part of an ongoing investigation into the Concord prep school’s handling of sexual misconduct and assault allegations over several decades. He faces two counts each of witness tampering and conspiracy to commit perjury for allegedly conspiring to hide his sexual relationship with the young female.
Deputy Attorney General Jane Young said by phone Thursday that she could not discuss the specifics of Friday’s plea hearing in Merrimack County Superior Court, including whether the original charges will stand or if alternative charges will be introduced as part of the deal.
Pook taught at St. Paul’s from 2000 to 2008 before he left under what authorities said were “questionable circumstances.” While St. Paul’s maintains Pook was let go following “a boundary violation with a student,” investigators say Pook and the young female had a sexual relationship that began years ago and continued as recently as his arrest.
The woman denied a sexual relationship with Pook during grand jury proceedings, according to an affidavit. The woman turned 18 in 2008, the same year Pook left the prep school.
During his employment with St. Paul’s, Pook also worked in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2006 for the Advanced Studies Program, a summer program for the state’s high-achieving high school students who spend five weeks living and studying at St. Paul’s. The school reached out to past students of the program following Pook’s arrest, asking them to report any incidents of inappropriate behavior.
After leaving St. Paul’s, Pook was hired in 2009 by The Derryfield School, a private day school in Manchester. Then-St. Paul’s Rector Bill Matthews gave Pook a favorable recommendation despite knowing that Pook had violated school rules governing boundaries between faculty and students.
President of St. Paul’s Board of Trustees Archibald Cox Jr. and former Rector Michael Hirschfeld recently apologized to The Derryfield School for the failure.
The Manchester school fired Pook after learning of his arrest and prohibited him from being on its campus.
Pook is the first person to face criminal charges as part of a larger department of justice investigation into St. Paul’s. In launching the probe in summer 2017, authorities said they would examine whether St. Paul’s endangered the welfare of children or broke a law that prohibits the obstruction of criminal investigations.
Young said Thursday the broader investigation “remains ongoing and active.”
Pook’s plea hearing is scheduled to begin Friday at 2 p.m. in Concord.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)