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Mass. teaching assistant arrested, charged with raping at least 2 students

SOUTH EASTON, Mass. — A local teaching assistant is behind bars, accused of raping students. Up until his arrest, 29-year-old Matthew Parris worked at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in South Easton. A judge ordered he be held without bail on charges of aggravated statutory rape, rape of a child with force, and kidnapping of a child.

According to court paperwork, the alleged crimes happened at the end of February and the beginning of March.

Parris is accused of threatening at least two female students and raping them on school grounds and in his car. Police say the crimes happened in several towns, including Easton, Brockton and East Bridgewater.

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According to court paperwork, Parris resigned in early March after admitting to a faculty member that he kissed a 15-year-old student. That sparked a police investigation that revealed disturbing allegations. According to court paperwork one of the victims told police Parris took her to a storage shed behind the school. There, he allegedly ordered her to, “get on your knees,” and threatened, “I will make your life hell if you don’t.”

In another instance Parris allegedly forced himself on a student inside a classroom closet.

He then told her he would give her a ride home from school the next day and she would give him oral sex again. He allegedly threatened to hurt her family if she didn’t comply. The next day, Parris allegedly drove the girl to a parking lot in Brockton, where he raped her in the back seat of his car.

The school released a statement to Boston 25 News:

Parris’ attorney refused to speak to Boston 25 News outside of court. He’s due back in court on Thursday for a dangerousness hearing.