A 23-year-old teacher at The Lawrenceville School has been charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child after he inappropriately touched two teenage boys as they were sleeping in their dormitory rooms, according to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
Dominic F. Brown, who was in his second year of an internship at the private, co-educational boarding school, was immediately dismissed and has been banned from entering The Lawrenceville School campus, school officials said.
Brown taught history and coached water polo.
Brown entered the dormitory rooms of the two boys in the early morning hours of Oct. 5 and inappropriately touched them while they were asleep, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
The boys contacted the school’s Department of Public Safety and Security, which in turn notified the Lawrence Township Police Department and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.
In a letter to the campus community, Head Master Stephen Murray wrote that the students have been offered counseling and support from faculty and others. He praised the students for speaking up.
“The incident is deeply troubling and violates the foundation of trust that our community holds between adults and the students in our care,” Murray wrote. He added that nothing in the teacher’s background check or references would have led the school to believe he would act in that manner.
“Lawrenceville’s top priority is the security and well-being of our students, and making sure that our campus community is a safe environment for all,” Murray wrote.
The investigation is continuing, and anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Detective Alicia Bergondo of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office’s Special Victims Unit at 609-989-6568.
