By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT — Former city mayor and substitute teacher George Caccavaro pleaded guilty Tuesday in Newport District Court to two counts of simple assault involving a student. Two counts of aggravated sexual assault were dropped.
Caccavaro, 78, appeared with his attorney George Ostler for a plea hearing in Fifth Circuit Court, where he pled guilty before Judge Bruce Cardello to two misdemeanor counts of simple assault, stemming from inappropriate contact with a Stevens High School student in February 2019.
Caccavaro turned himself in last October to the Claremont Police Department that issued a warrant for his arrest following a seven-month investigation.
The victim, who is only identified by the courts as “K.L.,” was a 20-year-old student in Stevens High School’s Life Skills program, where Caccavaro worked as a classroom assistant. The Life Skills program teaches independent living skills to students with special needs.
According to the police affidavit, Caccavaro would frequently escort two students, including the victim, to the Claremont Animal Shelter, where he and the students would play with the cats in the socialization room.
On Feb. 5, 2019, two volunteer employees at the animal shelter witnessed Caccavaro and the victim in an inappropriate embrace. Both witnesses told Claremont Detective Casey Piehl they saw Caccavaro slide his hands down the student’s back and cup her buttocks.
On Oct. 10, 2019, following an interview with Piehl, Caccavaro wrote two emails to Piehl in which he confessed to his actions.
“Please understand that I didn’t enter that room intendending to do anything like what happened,” Caccavaro wrote in the letter. “She hugged me unlike any other time. This was a full-frontal hug and she held it longer and tighter than she ever had. It affected me physically… It’s pretty obvious that deep down I knew what I had done was wrong and self-serving. As the adult in the room, it was my responsibility to ensure nothing like this happened.”
According to the affidavit, Stevens High School Principal Patricia Barry told investigators that the victim primarily communicated nonverbally.
Caccavaro’s sentencing hearing was moved to Tuesday, May 5. Cardello said that the court schedule was too full to conduct a sentencing yesterday. Though a plea agreement was reached between Caccavaro’s counsel and District Attorney Christine Hilliard, the terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed.
Caccavaro still serves as chair of Claremont’s Fiske Free Library Board of Trustees. Prior to the trial, the Eagle Times attempted to ask Caccavaro whether he still intends to serve as the library chair, but Caccavaro’s attorney, speaking on Caccavaro’s behalf, declined to answer questions at this time.
According to the city’s code of conduct policy, dated Jan. 22, 2003, states that all members of the city government, including boards and committees are expected to “operate in a manner that demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and public service and to avoid all circumstances which may create the appearance of impropriety or otherwise undermine this stated objective.”
However, the city’s policy only addresses conduct specifically pertaining to a member’s performing of board duties, such as avoiding conflicts of interest.
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