Norwich — A third Norwich Free Academy official was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday in what appears to be a continuation of discipline being meted out in response to allegations in April 2017 that an assistant coach had engaged in sexual relations with a female student.

For the second straight day, NFA announced “interim leadership changes” put in place after a top school official was placed on paid leave by Head of School David Klein.

While NFA once again did not name the person placed on leave, sources confirmed that it is Susan Hopkins-Terrell, head of the Physical and Health Education Department.

“Beginning today, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, while certain personnel are on paid administrative leave, the following interim leadership change will take place on campus,” the statement by NFA spokesman Geoff Serra said. “NFA's Athletic Director Roy Wentworth will serve as the administrative liaison to the Physical and Health Education Department. Head of School David Klein will be meeting with the Health and Physical Education Department members on Monday to ensure a seamless transition of leadership and a smooth continuation of operations.”

Serra wrote that NFA will not comment on “individual personnel matters.”

On Wednesday, NFA announced similar unnamed paid administrative leave, apparently for Campus Safety Director Kevin Rodino and for Denise Grant, director of curriculum and instruction, announcing that Assistant Campus Safety Director Stephany Bakoulis would oversee campus safety and Klein and consultant Mike Wasta will oversee curriculum and instruction.

All three NFA officials, along with Klein and other top NFA officials, are included in police warrant narratives chronicling the school’s response in April 2017 to allegations that then assistant coach Anthony Facchini had been engaged in a sexual relationship with a student.

Academy officials dismissed the allegation after just a two-day internal investigation and never reported to the state Department of Children and Families as required by state law.

After a second allegation was reported to state authorities and police in June 2018, Facchini, 25, of Norwich was fired by NFA and was charged by Norwich police on Sept. 12, 2018, with two counts of second-degree sexual assault in connection with allegations he had had sexual relations with two NFA students in 2017 and 2018.

Following its own investigation, conducted by attorney Matthew Curtin, the NFA board of trustees last week cleared Klein of any wrongdoing and directed him to take any administrative actions he deemed appropriate in response to Curtin’s findings.

Police also are continuing the criminal investigation into whether NFA officials should be charged for failing to report an incidence of child abuse or neglect.

According to the police arrest warrant and search warrants obtained for NFA computers, emails and investigation documents, top NFA officials learned of the first allegations in April 2017.

Curriculum Director Grant had called Campus Safety Director Rodino after she learned of the allegation. Rodino called the initial call anonymous, but Grant told police that Rodino knew she was the caller and even returned her call on her office desk phone.

Rodino’s initial investigation report, obtained by police, noted that Hopkins-Terrell “was referenced as possibly having knowledge of a potential relationship,” the police warrant stated, but she was not interviewed by Rodino in his initial investigation. Rodino closed his investigation two days later and dismissed the allegations.

Police said Rodino’s initial investigation report stated that Rodino met with Klein, Director of Student Affairs John Iovino and then-Athletic Director Eric Swallow regarding the allegation. The report said the administrators asked Swallow to interview Facchini and Director of Guidance Jessica St. George to talk to the alleged student victim.

School officials quickly closed the investigation after both Facchini and the student denied they were in a sexual relationship. In the arrest warrant affidavit, Facchini told police on the eve of his meeting with Swallow, he asked the student victim to delete all communications between the two in her cellphone and to deny the relationship if questioned.

According to police, Rodino’s initial report also did not indicate school officials intended to report the allegations to police or to the DCF — as required by state law for all school personnel — even if Facchini had acknowledged the relationship.

“Rodino states in the initial report that it was decided, after advising Iovino, Klein and Athletic Director Eric Swallow, that Swallow would meet with Facchini regarding this matter to gain additional information,” police wrote in the search warrant affidavit. “Rodino also noted that if the allegations were found to be true, Facchini would be advised the social interaction should stop immediately.”

Swallow resigned on Sept. 10, two days before police arrested Facchini on Sept. 12.

Police interviewed Hopkins-Terrell on Aug. 24 and she told police she first heard information about Facchini’s possible relationship with a student in April 2017, when Grant asked her about Facchini and told her the name of the alleged student victim. Hopkins-Terrell told police Grant had heard of the alleged relationship on social media. Grant also told Hopkins-Terrell she was going to “do something about” the information.

A few days later, the warrant stated, Hopkins-Terrell said she told Swallow about the allegation.

“As she began talking to Swallow about it,” police wrote in the warrant, “he raised his hands and advised her the situation was being looked into. She got the impression that Swallow did not want to talk about it.”

Hopkins-Terrell told police that a few weeks later, with Facchini continuing as coach, she talked to Grant. She said Grant told her that either Swallow or Rodino told her that “nothing could be done” because Grant supposedly had wanted to be anonymous and could not provide the social media posting.

In her interview with police, Grant said she never intended to be anonymous, and Rodino knew who she was and had called her back on her NFA desk phone.

Grant "stated she had a second discussion with Hopkins-Terrell after nothing was done,” the police warrant stated, “and Hopkins-Terrell felt as if she was brushed aside by Eric Swallow. Grant felt Rodino had done the same to her.”

Weeks later, police obtained warrants for emails associated with six top NFA officials — Klein, Iovino, Rodino, Swallow, St. George and Shattuck House Principal Kristin Peckrul — in the investigation. Police also wrote in warrants that NFA failed to provide all requested documents, including 80 pages missing from Rodino’s hard-back notebook he used for the internal investigation, and that NFA redacted names of students.

c.bessette@theday.com