Judge orders removal of GPS tracker for former WPS teacher accused of trafficking, rape
WORCESTER — A Superior Court judge allowed a motion to remove the tracking GPS on a former Worcester Public Schools and adjunct faculty member at Quinsigamond Community College accused of sex trafficking and rape Thursday.
In 2020, John B. Clayton IV, 66, of Northborough was arrested on charges that he promised to help drug-addicted women but instead forced them into prostitution.
According to court documents, Clayton's attorney, R. Bradford Bailey, filed a motion Thursday on behalf of his client requesting Judge James Reardon modify the conditions of Clayton's special conditions for release by removing the requirement for GPS monitoring.
Bailey cited Clayton's full compliance with the court during previous out-of-state travel in the three years since his arrest, argued he is a low-risk individual for failing to appear and argued the 2020 Supreme Judicial Court case Commonwealth v. Norman found the monitoring violates both the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 14 of the state Declaration of Rights.
According to court documents, Clayton has traveled out of state 11 times since his arrest, mostly to Georgia where his ailing mother lived. He traveled to Georgia nine times since his arrest as well as one trip to New Hampshire and Pennsylvania each.
Bailey wrote Clayton complied with all conditions imposed on him for travel, and said this history now means the GPS tracking is no longer the least restrictive means to assure his appearance in court.
Citing his age, a record that only includes a few motor-vehicle matters and the active role he has taken in defense planning, Bailey wrote Clayton stands at a low risk of fleeing.
Bailey also argued the SJC's decision in Commonwealth v. Norman found that there was no proof GPS monitoring increased the likelihood of a defendant appearing in court. The ankle bracelet was also ruled to have a chilling effect on free expression and exposed defendants to greater risk of indignity and arrest.
Reardon allowed the motion but said Clayton is still required to seek court approval for out-of-state travel. Court records show Reardon allowed travel to Pennsylvania from Friday to Sunday and to Georgia from Aug. 1 to Aug 15.
In 2020, Clayton was charged with seven counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, two counts of rape and two counts of witness intimidation. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecution alleges Clayton, sometimes using the alias Joseph Hallenbeck, would reach out to vulnerable women on social media, offering them help for their addictions.
Instead, he would force them to have sex with him and another individual and would give them money and marijuana in return, prosecutors allege.
Clayton has maintained he was helping the women and Bailey argued in court there may be a "consent defense."
From 2002 to 2014, Clayton taught at South High Community School, where he developed course content for advanced placement science courses and started the school's robotics program, Bailey wrote.
He also taught physics and engineering courses at Quinsigamond Community College for four years before his arrest.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Judge OK- GPS tracker for ex teacher removal accused of trafficking
