A St. Paul’s School graduate convicted of lying under oath during a grand jury investigation will avoid jail time as long as she performs 500 hours of community service.
Stephanie O’Connell, 28, of Chicago, pleaded guilty Monday afternoon in Merrimack County Superior Court to misdemeanor counts of false swearing and conspiracy to commit false swearing. As part of a plea deal, a judge handed down two concurrent six-month jail sentences, which will not be imposed as long as she completes the required community service and remains on good behavior for the next five years.
Prosecutors say O’Connell lied about her prior contacts with ex-St. Paul’s teacher, David Pook, ultimately hindering a broader criminal investigation into the Concord prep school’s handling of sexual misconduct and assault allegations, dating back decades.
“A message has to go out to others that when people raise their hand to tell the truth – no matter who they are – they have to do just that,” Senior Assistant Attorney General Geoffrey Ward said in court Monday.
O’Connell, a Harvard graduate, testified before the grand jury for several hours in early December, roughly five months after the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office launched its investigation into St. Paul’s. During her testimony, she said her most recent contact with Pook had been in summer 2017, but cellphone records obtained by investigators show multiple calls between the two in October, November and December.
Following receipt of a grand jury subpoena, Pook had shared with O’Connell records that were subject to a protective order. That included emails exchanged between Pook and O’Connell between February 2008 and October 2008, which prosecutors allege show an emerging relationship that led St. Paul’s to quietly terminate Pook. Further, some of the emails were included in the attorney general’s motion to disclose records to Derryfield School, a private Manchester day school that hired Pook not knowing why St. Paul’s had dismissed him.
Pook taught at St. Paul’s from 2000 to 2008 before he left under what authorities said were “questionable circumstances,” and yet was recommended for employment at Derryfield. While St. Paul’s maintains Pook was let go following “a boundary violation with a student,” investigators say Pook and O’Connell had a sexual relationship that began years ago.
Pook’s defense attorney Mark Sisti remained adamant that allegations of a sexual relationship between Pook and O’Connell were unfounded.
Pook, of Warner, was sentenced in August to four months in jail on misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit false swearing and criminal contempt of court.
During O’Connell’s sentencing hearing Monday, Judge John Kissinger Jr., who oversaw the grand jury proceedings, expressed his full support for the plea agreement, while echoing Ward’s statement about the importance of an untainted grand jury process.
“My hope for you is that … this is something that you’ll look back on as a lesson in life, but it also gives you the opportunity to move forward,” Kissinger said.
The attorney general’s office recently concluded its investigation of St. Paul’s, announcing last month that it had reached a settlement agreement with the school in lieu of pursuing child endangerment charges. As a condition of that agreement, the school will be under government oversight for up to five years. An independent overseer will report to the attorney general and ensure that the school is in compliance with the state’s mandatory reporting laws. That person has not yet been appointed.