CLAREMONT — A former Claremont Middle School teacher has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of stalking in a case that involved a student at the school.
Erin Mullen, of Springfield, Vt., was sentenced to 12 months in Sullivan County jail, with all but two days suspended. She also was ordered to have no contact with the child for a period of two years, according to Claremont District Court records dated Nov. 7.
A second charge of having violated a protection order was dropped.
The case arose last winter after the student’s mother alleged Mullen had an inappropriate relationship with her son, who was 14 at the time and enrolled at the middle school.
Despite the guilty plea on the stalking charge, Mullen denied in court documents that she had an “inappropriate relationship” with the child.
Nathan Lynch, an attorney representing Mullen in her criminal case, said she is “a very nice woman who had good intentions of helping a troubled youth.”
“But unfortunately a conflict emerged between her and the child’s mother. And the mother made a good argument that my client’s repeated contacts rose to the level of stalking,” Lynch said on Tuesday, adding “it was all done with the best of intentions of helping somebody.”
Mullen, 39, was dismissed from her job at the middle school in February after she was arrested and charged with violating a protective order to stay away from the student.
Mullen was arrested on Feb. 5 after police observed her attempting to make contact with the student at the Claremont Community Savings Bank Community Center, less than an hour after she had been served with a temporary civil anti-stalking order.
She was released on $1,000 bail after spending two days in county jail and became the subject of scorn on social media when news of her arrest spread in the community.
Mullen maintained that she had only sought to provide a safe haven for the student from an “abusive” home, according to court motions she prepared herself in the parallel civil action.
When the child’s mother asked the court to block Mullen from contacting her child, she acknowledged that she initially had approved of Mullen helping to look after her son because she was working working multiple jobs.
But the mother grew suspicious that something else might be going on when her son refused to come home after spending overnights at Mullen’s house in Springfield, according to an affidavit in support of the mother’s civil anti-stalking petition filed Feb. 5.
When the mother sought the police’s help for the return of her son, Mullen filed an ex parte guardianship petition seeking guardianship of the 14 year old, the mother wrote in her petition to block Mullen from contacting her son.
The mother’s petition in support of the anti-stalking order also stated that Mullen had been communicating with the juvenile via Snapchat and that Claremont police are in possession of a “5-page handwritten letter” in which she refers to the juvenile as “Babes.”
After the mother’s civil anti-stalking petition was granted, Mullen filed her own motion seeking dismissal of the order. Mullen claimed that the student’s mother’s allegations were “unfounded,” “hearsay,” and “false” and made in “retaliation” for seeking guardianship of the child, who had confided to Mullen about “ongoing abuse at (his) home.”
The civil anti-stalking petition was granted Feb. 5, the same day it was filed by the mother.
Mullen, a 2004 graduate of Lebanon High School, wrote in court documents that she had become a pariah in the community. The civil anti-stalking order “has caused severe harm to my reputation, employment and ability to care for my children” and has been “causing significant damage to my life overall.”
Her petition to dismiss the anti-stalking order was dismissed by the court in June as “untimely” — meaning it was filed past the time period allotted for responses — and the court never held a hearing to weigh the merits of Mullen’s counter claims.
When Mullen was fired from her Claremont Middle School teaching job, Chris Pratt, the former superintendent of SAU6, said in an email to parents responding to “many inquiries,” said that he could “not share specific details” about what led to the firing of Mullen — whom he did not identify by name. But, Pratt said, that the school district “acted swiftly and promptly as soon as we were notified by law enforcement that the law had been broken.”
Pratt said he would also be submitting “the teacher’s name” to have her New Hampshire state teacher’s license revoked.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the New Hampshire Department of Education, in response to an inquiry about the status of Mullen’s teaching license, said via email that the Department does not comment on investigations of particular educators.
“The Department’s top priority is always ensuring the safety of children. All allegations of educator misconduct are of paramount importance, and the Department works diligently with its partners to address any and all such claims swiftly and with fairness to all involved,” the spokeswoman said.
Mullen’s name does not appear on the current updated list of revoked and suspended educator credentials.