Teacher Accused of Sex with Teens not a Danger, Judge Says

A Fall River Superior Court judge rejected prosecutors' arguments Tuesday that Patrick Doyle, a Taunton High School teacher accused of having sex with one teen and sexual contact with another, was a danger to society and should remain in custody without bail for up to 90 days under the state's dangerousness statute, according to NBC 10 news in Providence.

Doyle, a 33-year-old Seekonk resident, will remain free on $150,000 bail that was posted by his family earlier this month. He must wear a GPS monitoring device, according to the TV station.

NBC 10 reported:

Doyle said nothing on his way out of court, but character witnesses took the stand for the teacher.

"I've never seen Patrick be inappropriate in any manner. He's always been a straight up, stand up gentleman," Carol Gomes, a friend of Doyle's, testified.

Judge Thomas F. McGuire Jr., who made the decision at the dangerousness hearing, had previously determined Doyle's alleged crimes did not meet the criteria for there to be a hearing. However, a single judge on the state Supreme Judicial Court last week and ordered the hearing to take place.

Doyle teaches eighth-grade social studies at Taunton High and is accused of having sex with one 14-year-old girl at his home. He allegedly performed a sex act on another 14-year-old girl on the high school campus. Prosecutors allege he sent explicit photos and messages via cellphone to those girls and another teen. Doyle has pleaded not guilty to aggravated statutory rape and other charges.

Lefteris Travayiakis, Doyle's attorney who had previously called the alleged victims who were trying to sabotage his client's life and career, told NBC 10 outside the courtroom that the teens had stolen his client's cellphone so they could get his contact information to begin the text exchanges.

"Perhaps they manipulated these text messages," he told the station. "Perhaps they manipulated these photographs. I don't know what they did with that phone. All I know is they got in there without his permission and they did something to it."