Former North Andover coach charged with giving drugs to former student

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) -- A former teacher and coach pleaded not guilty to giving drugs to a former student athlete Tuesday.

Elizabeth Backler, 28, was arrested on Monday night. Backler, who worked previously at North Andover High School, was charged with two counts of distributing OxyCodone and one count of distributing Diazapan.

In court, the Essex Assistant District Attorney Heidi Mader said that the investigation began in June 2015 after a parent expressed concern to school officials about Backler's behavior with her child. The mother allegedly found written notes and text messages from Backler. Police said through their investigation, officers discovered Backler gave the 16-year-old OxyCodone, Valium and muscle relaxers after the teen complained of shoulder pain in 2014, when Backler coached the swim team.

In court prosecutors described the relationship between Backler and the victim as both inappropriate and "strange," noting how Backler's interest in the 16 year old went far beyond the professional.

"They would go out to dinner, she would be invited into the defendant's apartment and she would be bought expensive gifts," said Mader, describing the teen and coach relationship. ""Along with this, the defendant had written the victim cards, which the mother of the victim had thought were quite concerning."

Backler's defense attorney Melinda Thompson said, "They're just allegations at this point, there's a lot more to this...we're ready to fight this, she maintains her innocence."

Backler worked for North Andover Public Schools from 2011 to February 2015, according to a statement from the district. She began as a substitute teacher and eventually became a full-time science teacher and an assistant coach for the Boys and Girls Swim teams. Backler was also an assistant coach for the Andover/North Andover YMCA Hurricanes swim team up until July 2015. According to her website, Backler also worked as a coach at Haverhill Country Club, but officials there did not return FOX25 phone calls seeking comment.

"The high school administration immediately turned this matter over to the School Resource Officer for the North Andover Police," North Andover Superintendent Jennifer Price said.

The incident is believed to involve only one student, according to the district. Students at the school said Tuesday that Backler was a good teacher and they were surprised of her arrest.

"Everyone was like wow, weird," said Colin Lee, a student at North Andover High School.

Parents were relieved that she no longer worked in the district.

"I think it's crazy, unbelievable. If it was my kid, I would be furious," said Brian Landry.

Starting later in 2015, Backler began working as a biology teacher for Amesbury Public Schools. The school district said that Backler has been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the investigation.

"To the best of our knowledge, these allegations do not involve any students in the Amesbury Public Schools district.  We will continue to work cooperatively with the police and district attorney's office," Amesbury interim-Superintendent Gary S. Reese said.

The Lawrence District Court judge ordered Backler to stay away from and not contact the victim and this witness. She also must stay away from North Andover High School and is not allowed to have unsupervised content with children under 18. She is scheduled to return to court Nov. 3 for a pretrial hearing.

Cox Media Group