Boston School Employee Asked Student For Sexual Photos: Police

BOSTON — A Boston Public Schools employee is facing legal charges after he was accused of asking a minor to send sexual photos.

Ernest Logan, 21, has been placed on leave from his job as a technician at TechBoston Academy and was arraigned Monday on two counts of lascivious posing a child in a state of nudity.

A judge at the West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court set his bail at $3,000 and ordered him to stay away from the victim, witnesses, and the school.

Logan was arrested Friday after a relative of the student contacted detectives with the Boston Police Department Internet Crimes Against Children saying they had found disturbing messages between Logan and the student.

According to the police report, messages show Logan encouraging the student to send him sexual pictures, which the student did, officers said. The student's relative said Logan was known to the family through his job at the school.

"While we cannot comment on the specifics of this incident, we can confirm that a member of the community has been placed on leave and we are cooperating with the Boston Police Department and their investigation," a spokesperson from Boston Public Schools said in a statement.

While current law does not provide protection to minors who have reached the age of consent - which is 16 for intercourse and 14 for other sexual acts in Massachusetts, Hayden is working on a bill to change that.

The legislation Hayden is pushing for would make it a crime for adults in positions of authority or trust to engage in sexual relations with a minor under the age of 18.

"As District Attorney, as well as a parent, a coach, a member of the clergy, and a board member at youth-serving nonprofits, I understand the level of trust and authority each of these roles holds over young people," Hayden said. "A child does not suddenly become less vulnerable to that uneven power structure the moment they turn 16."

Logan is due back in court on April 27.

The investigation remains ongoing by Boston Police and prosecutors assigned to District Attorney Kevin Hayden's Crime Strategies Bureau, which involves the office's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit.

Anyone who believes that a child in Massachusetts may be the victim of abuse can call the Department of Children and Families' Child at Risk Hotline at 1-800-792-5200. Those worried that a child is being exploited online may report a Cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.cybertipline.com.