Former Tabor Academy teacher accused of sexually assaulting student in the 1990s

A grand jury indicted a former Tabor Academy teacher on 12 counts of rape and one count of witness intimidation after allegations from a former student, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. 

Nannie Clough, 57, of Denver, allegedly began abusing the victim when she was 15 and continued the abuse for about three years, from 1996 to 1999.

After the former student came forward as an adult, a joint investigation was launched by the Massachusetts State Police and the Marion Police Department, the DA’s office said. 

On Monday, Aug. 17, Clough pleaded not guilty in Plymouth Superior Court to the charges, and she was released on personal recognizance, according to court documents. 

Clough is next scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 15. 

Boston.com could not immediately reach Clough’s attorney, Max Stern. However, he previously told The Boston Globe that his client “has denied all allegations and expects to be fully vindicated.” 

Kristin Knuuttila, a lawyer for the victim, said in a statement that the news is filled with stories about male sexual predators. 

“What our client’s experience shows is that some women sexually abuse kids too,” she said. “School administrators and teachers need to pay attention to anyone in a position of power who shows special attention to a student and welcomes them into their fold, which is exactly what Clough did with our client.”

Knuttila said her client, who was a teenage girl at the time, slept over at Clough’s campus home, babysat for her children, and spent parts of summer vacations with the Clough family. 

“No teacher or school employee — male or female — should ever be allowed to have that kind of access to a student,” Knuttila continued. “There were so many red flags, yet nobody within the Tabor administration did anything to protect our client.” 

In a statement, the victim, who remains anonymous, said that Clough masked her abuse under the guise of caring for her when she was in an extremely vulnerable place. 

“Because of the way she groomed me, I trusted and relied upon her,” the woman said. “The abuse — which continued well past my graduation from Tabor — was psychologically devastating and has taken me decades to not only process but begin to heal from.” 

Tabor Academy, a coeducational preparatory school in Marion with a focus on its marine science and sailing programs, stated on Friday that it had no additional information to share. 

The school encourages anyone with information about employee misconduct or abuse to share it with the school so it can promptly take appropriate action. 

In a 2022 report, an independent investigation found that 13 employees at Tabor Academy committed sexual misconduct with 14 Tabor students, two non-Tabor students, two Tabor graduates, and one non-Tabor graduate. The investigation addressed conduct reportedly occurring from 1967 to 2000. 

Since that report came out, the school has found out that two other former faculty members committed sexual misconduct with two former Tabor students, with one occurring in the early 2010s and the early in the early 2000s. 

“Our school expressed its deepest apologies that these members of our community experienced any type of misconduct or abuse,” the statement said.