Fitch teacher charged with second-degree sexual assault

Groton — An art teacher at Fitch Senior High School was arrested today after a police investigation found he had engaged in "inappropriate conduct" with a female student.

Timothy Riendeau, 29, of 31 Fleming Court, Groton, was charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault, said Lt. Bob Martin of Groton City police. He is being held on $150,000 cash bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning in New London.

An investigation into Riendeau’s conduct began on Nov. 9, when school officials notified police they were suspicious he was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a female student. Police obtained an arrest warrant on Wednesday and arrested Riendeau at his home today.  

Martin declined to say how old the student is.

Riendeau has been on paid administrative leave since the police investigation began, said Groton Superintendent of Schools Paul Kadri. He said administrators took immediate action to protect students once they learned of Riendeau’s alleged involvement with a student.

"In this case, I think everything was handled appropriately," Kadri said. "What every parent should know is the school district does everything it can to protect its students, and if anything happens we move as fast as we can to thoroughly take care of the situation." 

Kadri said Riendeau was in the middle of his first year teaching at Fitch, but said he had been previously employed by the school district in a different capacity. Kadri declined to discuss Riendeau’s personnel file or say if he had been disciplined in the past, citing privacy concerns.

While police were investigating Riendeau’s conduct, school administrators took quick steps to ensure any impacted students received assistance, Kadri said. 

"Whenever there’s a situation like this, aside from whatever’s going on with the police, there’s also the necessity of making sure parents are involved, that guidance counselors are involved, that we address any issues that are out there," he said.