Former teacher pleads guilty to child rape; sexual assault started when the girl was 12

A former Boston Public School high school teacher pleaded guilty to raping a child decades ago, when she was just 12 years old.

Arlington, 54, David Lockwood pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child over the years on Monday, the Suffolk County Attorney’s Office said.

The judge sentenced Lockwood to four years in state prison, followed by a two-year probation. The district attorney’s office recommended a prison sentence of five to seven years.

Lockwood was a teacher at James P. Timilty High School in Roxbury during the sexual assault that began in 1996. Suffolk prosecutors secured indictments against Lockwood in 2017 after the victim acted as an adult.

During a hearing on Monday in the Suffolk Supreme Court, Lockwood pleaded guilty to four counts of child rape.

Lockwood used his position as a victim’s teacher to gain her trust and prepare her for abuse, according to the district attorney’s office. He often took her to various places, including school-sponsored events, and the violence began on one of these trips in 1996 when the victim was 12 years old.

Lockwood was charged with ill-treatment that took place until 2000, when the victim turned 16, the legal age of consent in Bay State. The actual abuse continued after the child turned 16. However, Massachusetts law does not provide the same protection to minors when they turn 16.

“This man used his trust and authority to gain access to his victim and maintain the unequal power dynamics that kept her silent and under his control,” District Attorney Rachel Rollins said in a statement. “These are the actions of a predator. The fact that the victim continued to endure the abuse after the age of 16 is indicative of the level of manipulation and control the person exerted.

“Older teens remain vulnerable to abuse by those in power, including teachers, clergy, coaches, parents and guardians,” she added. “I am grateful to our Beacon Hill partners who are working hard to pass legislation that will protect older youth from abuse by adults who may exercise power over them.”