Third accusation comes out in Warden teacher case

WARDEN — Another child has come forward with allegations of inappropriate behavior by jailed substitute teacher and city council member Michael Leavitt.

“Others have come forward,” said Warden Police Chief Rick Martin. “A student came forward with accusations of touching.”

Martin provided no details about the date or nature of the accusation.

Leavitt was arrested on March 29 on two counts of voyeurism after a 9-year-old girl told her mother that Leavitt was taking pictures up her dress during Warden’s Community Day celebration on Labor Day, 2017.

He is currently being held in the Grant County Jail. Bail has been set at $200,000.

According to police records, Martin interviewed Leavitt on October 23, and obtained a search warrant for his iPhone. An extensive search of both Leavitt’s phone and online backup later found numerous photos and videos as well as a browser history of known child pornography sites despite Leavitt’s attempts to delete photos, videos, and erase his browser history just prior to the meeting.

Police also discovered a video of a second Warden student who did not know she’d been targeted.

“Voyeurism, if done correctly, is done without the subject knowing,” Martin said. “The second victim didn’t know she was being recorded.”

Martin said Leavitt began working as an emergency substitute in the Warden Schools in November, 2016, but that his time in the classroom was extremely limited.

“He subbed only 12 times, and a lot of those were half days,” Martin said.

According to Warden Mayor Tony Massa, Leavitt has not resigned from the council.

“He’s still a member of the city council, but we’ve had no contact with him,” Massa said. “He’s not called us, and we have not gone up to the jail to meet him.”

Massa said that state law allows city councils to remove members who are absent without an excuse from three or more meetings. Leavitt was not at Tuesday night’s council meeting, Massa said, and the council did not excuse his absence.

“I haven’t gotten any comment from anyone,” Massa said when asked about the community’s reaction to Leavitt’s arrest.

Police Chief Martin said he had no suspicions about Leavitt prior to last October. The mayor, however, was a little more circumspect.

“This is an ongoing criminal investigation,” Massa said. “I’m not making any comments.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.