Haverhill School Committee member arrested on suspicion of groping teenage girl outside 7-Eleven

Court documents show a Haverhill school board member was arrested earlier this week after she allegedly groped a teenage boy outside a local grocery store.

Cheryl Ferguson, who was arraigned in Haverhill Superior Court on Wednesday, was charged with one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years of age or older. Ferguson, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, was released on personal recognizance with a 9-to-5 curfew and an order to stay away from the victim and other minors under 18.

A police report says Ferguson allegedly approached the victim Tuesday around 7:45 p.m. while she was waiting outside the 7-Eleven on Dudley Street wearing a Halloween mask. The report states that as she entered the store, she groped his buttocks and as he was leaving, she approached the boy again, grabbing him by the chest.

“Oh, you have nipples,” she said in the report.

The teenager told Ferguson to leave, to which she allegedly responded by calling him a “weird.”

The teenager returned home and told his mother about the interaction, who recognized Ferguson based on her son’s description and notified the police, according to the report. Officers arrested Ferguson at her home on Dudley Street.

Ferguson, who admitted she was at the store playing Keno, told police she poked the teenager in the chest and told him he was “scary.” The report states that she denied further physical contact.

Haverhill Public Schools did not immediately respond to The Globe’s request for comment. In the pond the statement was obtained by WBZ-TV on Wednesday, Haverhill Mayor Melinda Barrett and school superintendent Margaret Marotta pleaded guilty to charges against a “school committee member.”

“Out of extreme caution, we have decided to restrict the member’s access to the school grounds and are, as a precaution, accepting other members until further notice,” the statement reads. “The safety of our students is the most important thing to us. Because this is a criminal case, we will not comment on the merits of the charges.”

On Thursday, the public defender assigned to Ferguson also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Court records show Ferguson, who was elected to the school board last year, already faces assault and battery charges in 2019 after punching her adult stepdaughter in the face. She pleaded guilty to the charges against her and was sentenced to a suspended prison sentence and community service.

Ferguson was also found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol, losing her license for three months in 2018 and driving with a suspended license.

Camilo Fonseca can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.