Former Claremont Mayor Charged With Sexual Assault

George Caccavaro, the former mayor of Claremont, NH, was charged Monday with one count of sexual assault., reports the Union Leader.

The 78-year-old is being accused of sexually touching an 18-year-old, mostly non-verbal, special-needs student at Stevens High School where he recently worked as a paraprofessional. Caccavaro was working for the Newport, NH School District at the time of this charge, though the incident took place before his hiring.

Stevens High staff claimed to have seen Caccavaro kissing the student. Principal Pat Barry noted to police that “Caccavaro had been spending an inordinate amount of time with the alleged victim going back to the fall of 2018.” The alleged sexual touching occurred during an off-campus trip on February 5, 2019, and was reported by two adult witnesses.

The former Mayor was interviewed by Claremont Police Officers on October 9, 2019 and initially denied any sexual contact. Though he finally admitted stating that “he had lost control with the student while hugging her,” and that “I didn’t think of it as a sexual thing until now.”

According to a Facebook post from Newport’s Interim Superintendent Brendan Minnihan, Caccavaro turned himself into the Claremont Police Department on Monday afternoon, and was immediately placed on administrative leave. He then resigned from his position within the district.

Caccavaro is currently out on personal recognizance bail, has been ordered to stay 500 feet or further from the victim and her family, and is set to be arraigned on December 2.