TYNSBOROUGH — A former English teacher at Tyngsborough’s Innovation Academy Charter School (IACS), Ryan Deery, faces a civil lawsuit alleging he groomed and sexually abused a former student.
Identified in court documents under the pseudonym Jane Jones No. 600, the former student alleges that the grooming began when she was a freshman at 14 years old. At the time, Deery was 32 years old. He worked at IACS between 2010 and 2017.
IACS is a public charter school for students in grades five through 12, and serves more than 700 students from ten Massachusetts communities, including Westford, Chelmsford and Tyngsborough. Students are enrolled in a lottery system to be considered each March.
According to statistics presented at a Tyngsborough Select Board meeting, Westford residents make up one percent of IACS’s student body.
Overview of Court Documents
According to the civil complaint, Deery was the former student’s English teacher during her second semester of her freshman year. He allegedly singled her out “for special attention, praise and constant compliments.”
Allegedly, after expressing concern over the former student’s academics, Deery privately tutored her after school in an empty classroom once or twice per week, despite “having no Special Education role at IACS,” the court documents say. Deery then allegedly began texting her over the summers, asking her to use a fake name “so no students would be able to tell.”
During the former student’s senior year, she alleges that she received a series of anonymous emails which claimed to know about her “secret emailing relationship.” According to the complaint, the emailer allegedly included inappropriate photos of Deery and pressured her to send photos of herself in return.
“Though [the complainant] did not realize it…the ‘blackmail’ event was defendant Deery’s invention, and his way of transitioning the relationship from grooming to sexual conduct,” the complaint alleges.
According to the complaint, the sexual abuse began in December of 2015 and lasted until 2022. This timeline includes the former student’s senior year and the six years following her graduation. The lawsuit alleges that Deery repeatedly assaulted her in his IACS classroom while she was a senior, and then at locations off school grounds after her graduation.
One of the complainant’s attorneys, Carmen Durso, declined to comment on behalf of himself and the complainant’s two other attorneys, Jeffrey Beeler and Amanda Bryant.
WestfordCAT News, also reached out to Deery’s attorney, Paul Robertson from Bowditch Attorneys, who said he would provide a comment but never answered follow-up calls.
After initial reporting, Head of Innovation Academy, Greg Orpen, wrote a statement to families addressing the incident:
“Innovation Academy had no knowledge of the alleged conduct until recently, when the former student made a legal claim. Upon learning of the allegations, the school immediately began an investigation, which will continue in response to the lawsuit. These allegations are shocking to all of us. The safety of all our students has always been, and always will be, our top priority. Please be assured that we will continue to do everything necessary to protect the safety of our students.”
When asked for further comment by WestfordCAT News, Orpen said “At this time IACS is unable to provide information beyond what was shared in a letter to our school community, as this is a subject of litigation and is a personnel matter regarding a former employee.”
WestfordCAT News also reached out to former Head of IACS Walter Landberg, who was there when Deery was hired, and former principal Erik Arnold, who held his position at the time of the alleged assault. Neither responded to a request for comment.
Deery left IACS for a new position as a seventh-grade English teacher at The Bromfield School in the fall of 2017. The Bromfield School is a public school for grades 6-12 located in Harvard, Massachusetts with a student population of 750. Deery also served as its director of career and college counseling from 2020 to 2024.
Since 2025, Deery has served as the curriculum and instruction specialist at Windham Woods School, a school for children with mild to moderate learning disabilities, including dyslexia and ADHD. However, according to The Lowell Sun, Windham Woods Head of School Ryan DeJoy said that Deery has been suspended amid the allegations.
At the time of reporting, Deery is no longer listed on the Windham Woods staff page.
To read the full civil complaint document, click this link: 2026_07_31_TyngsboroSchoolCase_Complaint
Massachusetts laws, IACS’s Title IX policy
According to Massachusetts law regarding child sexual abuse and the statutes of limitations, a complaintant can sue for sexual abuse of a minor within 35 years of when it happened. The time limit for filing suit begins when the child turns 18 years old.
During the time of the alleged abuse, the statute of limitations for criminal sex abuse in the commonwealth had a 16-years-old age-of-consent provision to it. Since the alleged sexual abuse occurred after the complaintant was 16 years old, a civil complaint was filed rather than a criminal one.
The complainant filed her lawsuit with the Middlesex Superior Court on July 31, 2026. It names both Deery and IACS as defendants.
The civil suit has 11 counts against both Deery and IACS including negligence in hiring, training, supervision and retention; negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress; violations of Title IX and Fair Educational Practices laws; and battery and assault.
The complaint also alleges that IACS “encouraged” an atmosphere between its students and teachers that differed from “accepted and expected boundaries in an educational setting.”
The IACS High School and Family Handbook defines sexual harassment of a student by an IACS employee as including, but not limited to, “Both welcome and unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; sexually-motivated physical, verbal, or nonverbal conduct; or other conduct or communication of a sexual nature.”
All IACS employees are mandated Title IX reporters. Failure of employees to report a violation results in “disciplinary action, including termination of employment.”
The complaint reiterates several times that Deery’s alleged behavior towards the former student was “open, obvious, and readily observed by students and teachers” and that “no IACS employees, who were mandated reporters, made any report of this information.”
IACS’s Title IX Resources page states that, “As an educational institution, the Innovation Academy Charter School is committed to creating and maintaining a school environment that prevents discrimination of all types, while at the same time ensuring the health and safety of all that learn at IACS.”
Using the Wayback Machine through Internet Archive, WestfordCAT News found that the first public Title IX Policy document was posted to IACS’s website in Sept. 2021. That 2021 file remained up on IACS’s page until at least Oct. 2025. However, according to its current page, IACS’s Title IX policy was updated as of August 2026, the month immediately following the complainant’s’ lawsuit.
Prior to Sept. 2021, a Title IX grievance form was publicly listed on the page from at least Dec. 2020. Since Sept. 2021, this grievance form is included at the bottom of IACS’s Title IX Policy document.
Compared to its former Title IX policy document, which was in effect from Sept. 2021 to July 2026, the new policy further elaborates on the expectations and responsibilities of the IACS Title IX Coordinator regarding the procedure and investigative process, as well as initial responses and supportive measures.
The following information is quoted directly from the most recent version of IACS’s Title IX Policy and Procedures document.
According to Section 6 of the Aug. 2026 document, “[IACS] must respond promptly when it has actual knowledge of conduct that reasonably may constitute sex discrimination or sex-based harassment in an education program or activity.”
Upon receiving a report, which can be made in person, by phone, mail, or email, IACS’s Title IX Coordinator / Lead Investigator will screen “to determine whether they fall under Title IX or alternative Title IX disciplinary procedures” and “coordinate supportive measures” for the complainant.
Section 7 of the Aug. 2026 document adds that “In the absence of a Formal Complaint or upon withdrawal of allegations, the Title IX Coordinator / Lead Investigator makes a fact-specific determination considering safety risks, severity, age/relationship of parties, availability of evidence, and threat levels to evaluate whether to initiate a complaint in the interest of safety.”
IACS may also remove an employee respondent from education programs following a “determination” and may place the respondent “on administrative leave (typically paid) during the pendency of a grievance process.”
The Title IX key roles and responsibilities were also expanded on in Section 4 of the Aug. 2026 document. In addition to a Title IX Coordinator and Lead Investigator, a Decision-Maker(s) and Appellate Decision-Maker(s) will assist in reviewing reports and evidence, determining responsibility among parties and disciplinary actions, and evaluating appeals.
The new Aug. 2026 Title IX Policy also acknowledges the record retention requirement of seven years In accordance with Title IX federal regulations (34 C.F.R. § 106.45 / § 106.8). This means IACS shall maintain and retain all records related to Title IX reports and complaints for at least seven years. This includes:
- All Title IX sex discrimination and harassment investigation records, including determinations regarding responsibility, disciplinary sanctions, and remedies implemented;
- All Title IX appeals and outcomes therefrom;
- All records of informal resolutions and resulting agreements;
- All supportive measures taken in response to a report or complaint (or documentation of why supportive measures were not provided);
- All materials used to train Title IX Coordinators, Lead Investigators, Decision-Makers, and informal resolution facilitators (which must be made publicly available on the School’s website).
The plaintiff demands a trial by jury by all counts. Under Massachusetts law, the plaintiff has 90 days to serve the defendants. Services of process against both IACS and Deery must be filed by Oct. 29.
This case has moved up to the federal courts. Stay tuned to WestfordCAT News for further reporting.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, resources include the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline, which can be reached at 1-800-656-4673, and The National Sexual Violence Resource Center. A list of more resources are listed on Mass.gov here.
