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Leader of Raleigh private school failed to stop a teacher accused of sex crimes, police say

By Thomasi McDonald
A Wake County grand jury handed up an indictment Tuesday against Nancy Errichetti, 55, who works as headmistress of The Montessori School of Raleigh. She is charged with one felony count each of aiding and abetting taking indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
A Wake County grand jury handed up an indictment Tuesday against Nancy Errichetti, 55, who works as headmistress of The Montessori School of Raleigh. She is charged with one felony count each of aiding and abetting taking indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Courtesy to The Observer
RALEIGH

The leader of The Montessori School of Raleigh has been charged with not doing enough to stop a teacher who is accused of having sex with a student.

A Wake County grand jury handed up an indictment Tuesday against Nancy Errichetti, 55, who works as headmistress of the private school. She is charged with one felony count each of aiding and abetting taking indecent liberties with a child and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Errichetti is accused of having "previous knowledge" of Nicholas Conlon Smith's "inappropriate behavior toward other students in whose care he had been entrusted as a school teacher."

As the school's leader, she "was in a position to act and failed to do so," according to the indictment.

Smith, a former teacher at the school, was charged last fall with 17 counts of statutory rape or sex offense and four counts of sex offense with a student. Investigators believe the crimes happened in 2011 and 2012.

The girl was 14 when the abuse began, according to police.

A complaint made public in January claims that Smith abused the 14 year old and her younger sister, who was forced to leave the school after her parents complained to Errichetti about Smith's inappropriate behavior toward her.

Smith was once the middle/upper school math director at The Montessori School of Raleigh.

Joe Lee, president of the school's board of trustees, issued a statement Wednesday following Errichetti's arrest.

“We have worked closely and cooperatively with law enforcement officials since the arrest of Nick Smith and are actively working to better understand the basis for the allegations against Nancy Errichetti. As Head of School, she consulted closely with outside counsel on all matters related to Nick Smith," Lee wrote in an email to The News & Observer. “The safety and well-being of our students remain the foundation on which our school is built. The Board of Trustees will work with our administration to ensure continuity for our students, parents, faculty and community.”



Errichetti was released from custody at the Wake County jail Wednesday after posting a $25,000 bond, a jail spokesman reported.


Smith remains in custody at the detention center in lieu of a $3.25 million bail, the spokesman reported.

This story was originally published May 16, 2018 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Leader of Raleigh private school failed to stop a teacher accused of sex crimes, police say."

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