NEWPORT — A former Claremont mayor and substitute teacher pleaded guilty this week to two counts of simple assault for inappropriately touching a special needs student last year, according to Sullivan County prosecutors.
Two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault, which were originally brought against George T. Caccavaro, 79, after his 2019 arrest, were dropped following his plea hearing Thursday, said Sullivan County Assistant Attorney Christine Hilliard. She declined to say why the sexual assault charges were dropped, but the news follows a plea deal Caccavaro struck earlier this year.
His charges stem from an incident in February 2019, when Caccavaro grabbed the buttocks of a Stevens High School special-needs student, who was over 18, and thrust his pelvis against her while they were on a school trip at a nonprofit, according to an affidavit from Claremont police Detective Casey Piehl filed in Claremont district court.
As a general practice, the Valley News doesn’t identify the victims of alleged sex crimes.
The former substitute teacher worked for the Claremont School District from early 2017 until police started investigating the claims in February 2019, according to a spokesperson for the school district.
He also served as mayor of Claremont for a time in the late 1980s.
He previously worked as a business administrator at the Newport School District until October, and is a former business administrator for the Mascoma Valley Regional School District.