New HampshireDepartment of JusticeOffice of the Attorney General

News Release

For Immediate Release
December 21, 2018

Contact:
Kate Spiner, Director of Communications
603-573-6103
kate.spiner@doj.nh.gov
Jane E. Young, Deputy Attorney General
603-271-3671
Jane.Young@doj.nh.gov

Jeffrey T. Maher Named Independent Compliance Overseer for St. Paul's School

Concord, NH – Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald announces that Jeffrey T. Maher has been selected as the Independent Compliance Overseer ("Compliance Overseer") for St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire.

On July 13, 2017, Attorney General MacDonald initiated a criminal investigation of St. Paul's School. The investigation was initiated as the result of a 2017 report concerning sexual assaults by St. Paul's School teachers on their students; earlier information about student sexual-conquest rituals such as the "senior salute," a practice which led to the highly publicized arrest, trial and conviction of a St. Paul's School student in 2015; and allegations of a similar ritual reported in June 2017.

On September 13, 2018, the Attorney General's Office entered into a Settlement Agreement ("Agreement") with St. Paul's School. The Agreement resolved the matter without a criminal proceeding in order to facilitate the protection of children at St. Paul's School, and to ensure a system of accountability, oversight, transparency, and training at the school.

The Agreement called for the oversight of St. Paul's School for a period of up to five years and included the selection of a Compliance Overseer who would be embedded on the St. Paul's School campus and tasked with reporting at least bi-annually to the Attorney General's Office regarding St. Paul's School's compliance with all of the terms of the Agreement.

Mr. Maher will begin serving as the Compliance Overseer on February 4, 2019. He currently serves as the Director of Campus Safety and Compliance at Keene State College and had previously served as their Title IX Discrimination and Harassment Coordinator. In these roles, Mr. Maher has been responsible for creating and implementing programs, trainings, and policies on issues of sexual misconduct, assault, harassment, stalking, and discrimination that promote a campus culture of awareness, respect, safety, and inclusion. He is experienced with victim-centered, trauma-informed models of crisis-intervention as well as monitoring institutional compliance with associated laws and regulations.

Prior to his employment with Keene State College, Mr. Maher worked for the Nashua Police Department for 20 years, retiring in 2015 at the rank of Captain. Mr. Maher received his law degree from the Massachusetts School of Law, cum laude, in 2002, a master's degree in Criminal Justice from Fitchburg State University in 1998, and his undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in Criminal Justice, with honors, in 1993.

"The Agreement with St. Paul's School is founded on reform, oversight, accountability and transparency," said Attorney General MacDonald. "The Independent Compliance Overseer is essential to achieving all of these objectives. Mr. Maher's recent experience in higher education, his training as a lawyer and his background in law enforcement, provides him with the necessary qualifications to take on this role to effect change at St. Paul's School."

"I look forward to working with him to ensure that our Agreement with St. Paul's School is fully implemented and as a result, we see a real cultural shift that focuses first and foremost on the best interests of the students who attend this institution."

All media requests should be directed to Kate Spiner at (603) 573-6103 or kate.spiner@doj.nh.gov.

New Hampshire Department of Justice
1 Granite Place South | Concord, NH | 03301
Telephone: 603-271-3658