BROCKTON, Mass. — Brockton District Court records identify Nathan Kellum of Middleboro as the Ashfield Middle School paraprofessional who was arrested earlier this month.
He was arraigned on May 8th, where he pleaded not guilty to allegations that he abused a student.
A public court docket reveals there are 14 charges against him, including providing obscene matter to a minor, enticing a child under sixteen, and posing a child in a nude or suggestive manner.
In a letter to parents, the Ashfield Middle School’s principal said, “The staff member was placed on leave last month after we were first made aware of allegations of improper conduct…the individual no longer works for the Brockton Public Schools.”
“Every month it seems we add a couple more cases so this particular case involving a Brockton paraprofessional is not a surprise to us, it should not be a surprise, but it should still be alarming,” said Jetta Bernier, Executive Director of Enough Abuse, a national initiative to end sexual abuse of children.
Bernier says this is the second case of alleged sex abuse against a student in the Brockton schools in less than a year, and the fourth this year in Massachusetts schools.
Enough Abuse is urging lawmakers to pass legislation that provides better training and a code of conduct for teachers and all school employees who come in contact with children.
She tells Boston 25 News reporter Bob Ward that prevention and awareness are keys to ending the abuse.
“We know what needs to be done. We have a code of conduct now that has over 25-30 different boundary-violating behaviors that every school employee should know about, so that they don’t find themselves in a situation on that slippery slope where they jeopardize everything,” Bernier said.
The Brockton Public School Department says that Kellum was hired in February 2022 and was fired in May 2026.
The District said CORI checks are performed on all job applicants, and those checks repeat every three years.
All Brockton School Employees were required to undergo a CORI check by the end of 2025.
Bail was set at $5,000.00 for Kellum. He is due back in court for a probable cause hearing later in May.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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