Former Hanover Principal Charged in Canaan Prostitution Sting

By Amanda E. Newman

Valley News Staff Writer

Published: 04-29-2016 2:53 PM

Canaan — Former Bernice A. Ray School Principal Matt Laramie has been charged in a prostitution sting.

Laramie, 48, was arrested on Monday off Route 4 in Canaan on one count of prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor, Canaan Police Chief Sam Frank said in a news release issued Wednesday night. Two other men also were arrested Tuesday on prostitution charges as part of the operation, which was launched by Canaan police earlier in the week.

“In each case, the men contacted undercover officers and offered to pay money for various sexual acts,” Frank said in the release.

The former principal was released on $7,500 personal recognizance bail, police said. He is scheduled to be arraigned on July 11 in Lebanon circuit court.

Laramie, who spoke to a reporter outside his Grantham home Wednesday evening, declined to comment on the charge.

After several years at the helm, Laramie in February resigned from the Ray School, citing personal reasons for his abrupt departure. In late March, school administrators announced they were investigating more than $30,000 in unapproved expenses charged to Laramie’s school-issued credit card.

Before his 2011 hiring in Hanover, Laramie, a Charlestown native, worked as an assistant principal at Kearsarge Regional High School, and as athletic director at both Lebanon High School and Stevens High School in Claremont.

News of his arrest first was made public in a Wednesday evening letter emailed to Ray School parents and staff by SAU 70 Superintendent Frank Bass.

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In the letter, Bass said Canaan police informed him Laramie had been arrested for soliciting prostitution.

Though no discussion of the arrest will be initiated with students, Bass wrote, counselors will be made available to “provide age-appropriate support to students and staff” to help them cope with the information.

Bass’ letter was sent out prior to the police department’s distribution of the news release. Through another police officer, Frank on Wednesday night said the school district had contacted him regarding Laramie’s arrest.

Reached by phone Wednesday night, School Board member Jona Roberts said he and his colleagues had received an email from Bass informing them of the arrest.

He declined to comment further, directing questions to Bass, whom he said had spent the day in Boston.

The superintendent and School Board Chairwoman Mimi Lichtenstein could not be reached for comment.

The arrest is the latest in a succession of surprising developments in the weeks since Laramie’s resignation. On Tuesday night, John Hansen — the candidate selected by the Hanover School Board to fill Laramie’s role at the Ray School — withdrew from the running to accept a position as principal of the Enfield Village School.

Hansen’s withdrawal came in the wake of public criticism regarding the School Board’s handling of the selection process. Some residents have accused the board of having a conflict of interest in its selection of Hansen. Others have called for more transparency and better communication on the board’s part.

The board has maintained there was no wrongdoing in its decision to pursue Hansen as principal.

As a result of Hansen’s withdrawal, the district has decided it will install an interim principal to fill the position for one year.

The search process for the post has not yet begun.

Staff writers Jordan Cuddemi and Rob Wolfe contributed to this report.

Amanda E. Newman can be reached at anewman@vnews.com or 603-727-3215.

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