A New Hampshire woman who police say was sexually assaulted by former Concord teacher Howie Leung when she was in middle school is asking a judge to release select information from his sealed divorce file, hoping it may uncover more information about other alleged victims.

In a motion filed Dec. 15, 2022, Nashua attorney Mark Rufo, lawyer for former Concord student Fabiana McLeod and her parents, requested that the court review the divorce file and release any information relating to McLeod and four other female Concord students who worked with Leung at a summer program at the Fessenden School in Newton, Mass., where he worked as the director.

While Leung’s criminal trial in Massachusetts has faced delays, McLeod and her parents sued the Fessenden School for negligence and misconduct. 

The divorce was initiated by Leung’s ex-spouse in April 2019, the day after he was arrested by Concord Police on a felony fugitive from justice charge out of Massachusetts, where he faced charges of aggravated rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, and indecent assault and battery on a child over the age of 14. The divorce was finalized in October 2019 and the case file has been sealed from public view since April 2019, according to the case summary.

Rufo argued that if the case file contains references to the five female students, contact with the Fessenden School or any abuse of a minor, it could be information that is relevant to the civil action against the Fessenden School or to the ongoing police investigation of other alleged abuse that occurred during a school trip to New Jersey.

“If there is any information in the sealed file which sheds light on any of the above matters, or could possibly lead to evidence along those lines, that information should in the interests of justice be made available,” the motion reads.

The Monitor doesn’t typically name alleged victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to be identified. McLeod, who was 13 and 14 years old when the alleged abuse occurred, came forward publicly in May 2021 while filing the lawsuit against the Fessenden School, saying at the time that she wanted to help protect others.

Judge David Burns presided over a hearing on the McLeods’ motion to access the divorce records last week, but has not yet made a ruling on the case.

In August 2021, Rufo filed a similar request for access to the divorce documents, but that request was denied by Judge Henrietta Luneau in March 2022.

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