Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues could face a criminal charge of assault and battery, the Plymouth County district attorney’s office confirmed to GBH News.
“On Thursday, July 2, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office filed an application in Brockton District Court for a clerk’s hearing to be held on a criminal complaint of one charge of Assault and Battery against Moises Rodrigues,” spokesperson Beth Stone wrote in an email.
The district attorney’s office says that hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Rodrigues did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two students have brought complaints against Rodrigues to Brockton Public Schools in recent months. The sought charge stems from an investigation into one of those complaints.
State police with the district attorney’s office confirmed last month that they were investigating following an outburst by a parent at Brockton High School’s graduation ceremony on June 6..
Rodrigues was speaking from a podium when a woman approached the stage, yelling, “You have to [expletive] get out of here. You know what you did to my daughter. You know what you did to my daughter. You have to [expletive] get out of here.”
GBH News later confirmed that a Brockton schools assistant superintendent had told Rodrigues to stay away from the graduation. Rodrigues, who also chairs Brockton’s school committee, attended anyway. However, he said he opted not to give out diplomas to avoid inadvertently interacting with his accuser, whose identity he claimed not to know at the time.
After the graduation, the student obtained a temporary harassment protection order requiring that Rodrigues maintain a distance of at least 100 yards from her for two weeks.
A judge subsequently chose not to extend the harassment protection order after the student testified at a June 22 court hearing in Hingham District Court. She described an incident in which Rodrigues moved toward her as she played the trombone in an annual Brockton parade in late May. The mayor “made [her] quite uncomfortable,” she said.
Rodrigues pointed at her instrument with his right hand, telling her to play a song the band had just finished playing again, and put his left hand on her shoulder, she testified. As she tried to move away from him, the mayor pulled her back toward him with his left hand and nudged her with his fingers to move closer, she added.
At the conclusion of that hearing, Judge Scott D. Peterson called Rodrigues’s conduct “unwelcome, offensive, and certainly unprofessional,” but said it did not meet the legal criteria to extend the harassment order.
A second student also complained to Brockton Public Schools about Rodrigues’ behavior following an event on May 15. In a widely shared photo on social media, Rodrigues was photographed at the event standing behind the girl as part of a large group. He appears to be holding her left arm just above the elbow with one hand and her right midriff with the other. According to a summary of a meeting with a Brockton schools assistant superintendent about the incident, Rodrigues allegedly stood close to the girl, commented on her appearance and touched her, leaving her feeling distressed.
GBH News is not identifying the two complainants because they are minors.
A clerk with Brockton District Court could not immediately provide more details about the potential charge. Related documents would become public record if a clerk magistrate finds probable cause and issues a criminal complaint.
This is a developing story. This story uses material from prior GBH News coverage.
