A woman who taught at a Connecticut high school has been charged with five counts of second-degree sexual assault in connection with alleged incidents involving a student, police said.
Ciara Picard, 39, is charged in connection with an investigation into incidents involving an individual who was a student at Maloney High School, according to the Meriden Police Department.
“As soon as the district received word of these allegations, it contacted the Meriden Police Department to investigate the matter involving an [alleged] inappropriate relationship that occurred several years ago between a former teacher and a graduate of Maloney High School,” police said in a statement.
Picard resigned from her position at the school in August of 2025, police said.
On December 2, she turned herself in and was charged, police said.
The charges stem from incidents that allegedly occurred while Picard was employed as a teacher at Maloney High School and she is alleged “to have had an inappropriate relationship with a student,” police said.
Picard is free on a $25,000 court-set bond and is due in Superior Court in Meriden on December 16, police said.
“The safety and well-being of students remain our highest priority. Individuals in positions of trust carry a responsibility to uphold the highest standard of conduct, and any violation of that trust is taken with the utmost importance,” the police statement said. “The Meriden Police Department remains committed to conducting thorough investigations and taking decisive action to ensure that all students are protected and that our schools remain safe learning environments.
“The Meriden Police Department also acknowledges the courage required for victims to come forward. The victim’s willingness to speak up is vital to accountability and community safety; we remain committed to supporting them throughout the process,” police said.
Meriden Public Schools Assistant Superintendent for Personnel and Talent Development Louis Bronk said in an emailed statement, “We are aware of the allegations regarding a former employee. The employee against whom these allegations were made resigned in August, and she is no longer employed by the Meriden Public Schools.
“As soon as we received word of these allegations, we reached out to the Meriden Police Department, and we have been cooperating fully with the Meriden Police Department in its investigation of this matter,” Bronk said.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing legal matter, we take all allegations of this nature with the utmost seriousness. Our first priority is always to assure the safety and well-being of our students and staff.”