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Lincoln police dispatcher arrested on child pornography charge

Lincoln Police Department Dispatcher Spencer Hughes was arrested on October 13 by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations for one count of possession of child pornography in violation of Title 18 USC 2252(a)(4)(B).

Hughes has been placed on administrative leave without pay. The town will conduct its own internal investigation and will take appropriate action, Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said in a statement, adding, “the crime alleged is very concerning and we will continue to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations.”

The specific statute in question concerns possession and/or distribution of visual depictions involving the use of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct and is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or up to 20 years if the visual depiction involves a minor under 12 or if the defendant has a prior conviction for sexual abuse or child pornography.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations has broad legal authority to enforce a diverse array of federal statutes and investigates all types of cross-border criminal activity, including cybercrime and human rights violations.

Kennedy would not comment further on Hughes as it involves an ongoing personnel matter. He referred questions to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston, which did not immediately return a phone call on Wednesday. Further information on Hughes was unavailable, though a Google search revealed that in 2019, he participated in a Cops for Kids with Cancer donation to a Burlington boy suffering from cancer.

Police log for October 2–8, 2020

Police received reports this week of unemployment claims that were fraudulently filed in the name of Lincoln residents on Concord Road, Conant Road, Trapelo Road, Wells Road, Twin Pond Lane, and Huckleberry Hill.

October 2

Silver Hill Road (5:52 p.m.) — Caller reported seeing a child walking barefoot in the roadway.. Area checked but no sign of a child walking in the area.

Brooks Hill Road (6:09 p.m.) — Caller reported that someone called him looking for iCloud account information. No information was given to the apparent scammer.

October 3

Bedford Road (1:54 a.m.) — Caller reported the sound of a female scream in the area of Bemis Hall. Office checked the area but were unable to locate anything amiss.

Bedford Road (3:25 a.m.) — Kelvin Ko, 23, of Ayer was stopped on Bedford Road and later arrested for OUI/liquor and speeding.

Winter Street (6:02 p.m.) — Caller complained about tree work being done at a neighbor’s house. An officer spoke to the resident, who said the work would be done by 7 p.m.

Tower Road (6:42 p.m.) — Caller reported receiving a call asking them to purchase American Express gift cards as payment.

Old Concord Road (1:13 a.m.) — Caller requested information regarding a civil matter. Officer spoke to the caller and gave them given all legal options.

October 4

Mt. Misery parking lot, South Great Road (12:08 p.m.) — Caller complained about horses running on the trails and people not wearing masks at an annual event. An officer spoke to the coordinator of the event and advised all riders to wear masks.

North Great Road (12:08 p.m.) — Police received a 911 call about a child found in the National Park. The parents reported the child at the same time to the National Park staff. Officer responded to assist and helped reunite the child with the parents.

Drumlin Farm, South Great Road (3:07 p.m.) — Caller reported a dog being locked in a vehicle. Officer responded; the car’s window was partially open, it wasn’t hot out, and the dog appeared to be fine.

Trapelo Road (3:35 p.m.) — Police stopped a bicyclist for running the stop sign and gave them a verbal warning.

October 5

North Great Road (5:43 p.m.) — A bicyclist riding behind another person walking called out that he was going to pass on the left, at which point the walker took out a box cutter. There were words from the suspect about a friend getting knocked over by a bicycle. The suspect also allegedly made a statement that the bicyclist wasn’t wearing a mask. No arrests were made.

South Great Road (8:21 a.m.) — Caller reported someone was at his house who claimed to be from Dig Safe. Officer responded; the worker was at the wrong house.

North Commons (10:22 a.m.) — Caller reported an injured hawk in the area. The animal control officer was contacted to handle the matter.

Tower Road (3:29 p.m.) — Caller reported receiving a call from Publishers Clearinghouse stating they had won some money. No personal information was given over the phone.

October 6

Old County Road (2:05 a.m.) — A stop sign was vandalized with spray paint.

Morningside Lane (9:46 p.m.) — Caller reported a car parked outside their house for a while. Officer checked the area; two neighbors were talking.

October 7

Huckleberry Hill (9:55 a.m.) — Caller reported they couldn’t get in touch with a relative. An officer spoke to the homeowner and advised them to call the reporting party.

Tower Road (10:12 a.m.) — Caller reported an odor of natural gas outside their house. Fire Department responded and shut off the propane tank. Propane company responded. No gas readings inside the house.

Old Concord Road (1:48 p.m.) — Caller wanted to report their vehicle was stolen but was advised that it was a civil matter.

Old Lexington Road (4:05 p.m.) — Caller reported being possibly scammed by someone who claimed to be tech support staff who gained access to their computer.

Police received reports of trees and branches down starting at 5:51 p.m. until 2:41 a.m. on October 8 on Concord Road, Bedford Road, Lincoln Road, Trapelo Road, Weston Road, Sandy Pond Road, Codman Road, South Great Road, Mill Street, Bypass Road, Old Lexington Road, Brooks Road, Blueberry Lane, Tabor Hill Road, Meadow Dam Road, Todd Pond Road, Baker Bridge Road, Page Road, Conant Road, Grasshopper Lane, Granville Road, Meadowbrook Road, North Great Road, and Windingwood Lane.

North Great Road (5:50 p.m.) — A large tree fell on a passing car. No injuries but road was closed temporarily.

Lincoln Road (6:05 p.m.) — A tree fell on a vehicle; no injuries.

Doherty’s Garage, Lincoln Road (7:32 p.m.) — A vehicle drove off with the pump hose still attached. The hose was reattached to the pump.

Oak Knoll Road (7:35 p.m.) — Fire Department assisted a homeowner who was locked out of their house.

Todd Pond Road (9:24 p.m.) — Caller reported suspicious activity and possible scam by door-to-door solicitors.

South Great Road (11:30 p.m.) — Two-car crash, no injuries.

October 8

Todd Pond Road (9:15 a.m.) — Caller reported that a tree fell on their two cars parked in their driveway.

Concord Road (3:02 p.m.) — A car hit a tree. One party was transported to Emerson Hospital.

Hawk Hill Road (4:07 p.m.) — Caller reported being bitten by a dog earlier. Animal control officer will handle.

Sunnyside Lane (7:48 p.m.) — Caller requesting a well-being check on a resident. Resident was fine and will contact the reporting party.

Lexington Road (7:01 p.m.) — The Council on Aging requested a well-being check on a resident. An officer checked and found that resident was fine and has power restored.

Lincoln Road (7:12 p.m.) — A police cruiser stuck a deer but sustained no damage. The deer ran off into the woods.

Clarification

The October 12 story headlined “Septic treatment becoming an issue for mall and South Lincoln” may have implied that the four-member South Lincoln Planning Advisory Committee will not have any presence from the Finance Committee. While he will not be a voting member, FinCom member Tom Sander will act as liaison to SLPAC. The article also said that the FinCom was short by two members, but it is now back at full strength with the addition of new members Deb Wallace and Rich Rosenbaum.

Second diversity roundtable now set for Oct. 15

Due to widespread power outages in town, the October 7  roundtable on diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism hosted by the Board of Selectmen was canceled and will now be held on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. This forum will focus on the role of town government in promoting these four values.

If you already registered for the webinar, the same link should work. If you need to register, click here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the webinar. To submit a question or idea in advance, email selectmen@lincolntown.org.

This is the second of three Board of Selectmen roundtables. Click here to read coverage of the first session on September 22 that focused on the role of law enforcement in Lincoln and Middlesex County. The third event focusing on the role of community groups will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.

Fierce blast of wind leaves many Lincolnites without power

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that the storm was in fact a derecho.

Half of Lincoln was without power Wednesday evening after an unexpected derecho blew through the area with high winds and rain. The widespread outages forced the postponement of the Board of Selectmen’s Diversity and Inclusion roundtable on Zoom that was planned for that night.

As of Thursday morning, 11 roads in town were closed because of trees and branches blocking the roadway or leaning on wires overhead. By 11 p.m., 352 of Lincoln customers (13%) were still without power.

Click on photos below for larger versions and captions:

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Masked man seen again in Lincoln

The masked man seen by a doorbell camera at a house on South Great Road last month.

A South Great Road resident called police on the afternoon of September 26 to report that the same masked man who was seen on camera at the house on September 5 was back at the residence looking to sell magazines. The man was asked to leave the residence, police said.

After being spotted in both Lincoln and Sudbury in recent weeks, the man was identified afterwards by a Lincoln police officer who saw him driving his scooter on Rte. 117, although “he wasn’t too talkative with us when the officer stopped him,” Lt. Sean Kennedy said on October 6. “We later had reports that he was soliciting door to door for magazine sales at another house on Rte. 117. He went back to the original house and was looking to sell magazines. He is not wanted by us for any crime.”

Issue #2 of the Chipmunk is here!

Hot off the (digital) presses is the newest issue of the Lincoln Chipmunk. Have a look at writing and artwork by your fellow Lincolnites:

chipmunk.lincolnsquirrel.com

We’re shooting for an every-other-month schedule, so the deadline for the next issue in the first week of December will be Monday, November 22. If you live, work, or go to school in Lincoln — or even if you grew up here — send in your creative work. Click here for details.

Update

The September 30 article headlined “Leaked harassment allegations against Higgins result in uproar” originally stated that the complaint by Jennifer Burney was sent to only two of the three Selectmen. However, the Lincoln Squirrel has learned that Selectman Jonathan Dwyer also received it, albeit in a separate email. The article has been updated to reflect this information. The story has also been edited to remove some details to protect the privacy of a minor.

Leaked harassment allegations against Higgins result in uproar

(Editor’s note: this story was updated on October 1.)

A copy of a formal discrimination complaint by one town employee about another was posted to the LincolnTalk email list on September 29, and police are now investigating because the email that included the post was “spoofed” — fraudulently signed in the name of an elderly resident who knew nothing about it.

The electronic trail began on September 16 when Director of Planning and Land Use Jennifer Burney wrote up a complaint against Town Administrator Tim Higgins and emailed it to members of the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen. Thirteen days later, someone included that complaint in a post on the LincolnTalk email list, which has about 1,500 subscribers.

The post’s header said it was from “Debra French” with the subject line “Compliant [sic] Filed by Jennifer Burney + Mary Day re: FEMALE HARASSMENT AND FIRE DEPARTMENT INSULTS made by Tim Higgins.” The preamble said in part, “I received this message below and find myself in deep concern over the severe allegations made! No women should be going through this!” It was received and automatically posted to LincolnTalk at 11:32 p.m. on September 29. 

There is, in fact, a Lincoln resident named Deborah French whose first name is spelled differently, but she was horrified to learn about the spoofing when police came to her door. It’s unclear who notified the police.

“I’m speechless. The police just came and told me about it,” French said on Wednesday. “That’s awful. I think anybody who knows me knows it was not from me, but I would love other people to know it too. I’m not tech-savvy at all — I was brought up with pencil and paper.” French’s late husband John French, who died in 2018, served on several town boards and committees and was also town moderator for 16 years.

Earlier on Tuesday evening, the Lincoln Squirrel received an almost identical email, but from a different return address (Thisis Anonymous <anonylincolnma@gmail.com>). The Squirrel has shared details of that email with Lincoln police. Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy would not comment on the matter.

Spoofing, according to the FBI, is when someone disguises an email address, sender name, phone number, or website URL to convince the recipient that they’re interacting with a trusted source. However, it’s unclear if spoofing is a crime if the sender is not aiming to defraud the recipient financially, install malware on their computer, or extract personal information.

Burney’s allegations

The LincolnTalk post included a copy of a September 16 email from Burney to the Planning Board and Board of Selectmen. It outlined complaints of discrimination, harassment, and intimidation alleging that Higgins targeted Burney and former Assistant Town Administrator Mary Day, who left her job unexpectedly in late May. 

Burney wrote in the complaint that she requested leave last spring under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for a family member. In coordination with experts she consulted, Burney agreed to a plan that would require her full-time presence to provide that care, she wrote.

Higgins asked all town employees to return to work in person on June 1, but Burney was still caring for her daughter and needed to continue working from home. She wrote that on May 28, “Day informed me that she would have paperwork within a week for potential options to those with schedule conflicts. I was quite concerned by the shocking message sent on a Saturday morning from Mr. Higgins, May 30th, stating that Ms. Day had resigned from her position effective immediately.”

In the complaint, Burney said that “Ms. Day confided in me that she did not resign, and in fact had to hastily leave the office after experiencing extreme intimidation by Mr. Higgins,” after which Day allegedly sought medical attention “due to the stress he caused her both in this situation and past scenarios.” Day could not be reached for comment.

Higgins “continued to try to delay and deny my FMLA leave, asking me to reconsider, while delaying and refusing to file the paperwork needed,” according to Burney. He “reluctantly” allowed her to begin leave on June 9 but then “berated” her upon her return on September 2 when she requested a hybrid home-and-office work schedule to accommodate her family member’s schedule. “Mr. Higgins verbally attacked my job performance by suggesting I give nothing to the town and all I do is, ‘take take take’,” she wrote.

Board of Selectmen involvement

At the June 22 Board of Selectmen meeting, Higgins told the board he planned to promote Parks and Recreation Department Director Dan Pereira to the Assistant Town Administrator position, which Day had vacated just over three weeks previously. At the same meeting, he announced that Burney had taken an FMLA leave of absence and that Assistant Director of Planning and Land Use Paula Vaughn-McKenzie would be acting Planning Director.

On September 21, five days after Burney’s email complaint to town officials, the Board of Selectmen met in executive session before their regular open meeting (as allowed by state law) “to hear a complaint against a public officer, employee, staff member or individual,” according to the meeting agenda.

“Please be advised that the Board of Selectmen had previously received the complaint that was recently published on the LincolnTalk listserv,” board chair James Craig said in an email to the Lincoln Squirrel on Wednesday. “The board has initiated an investigation that is being conducted by an independent third-party investigator. To respect the privacy of all parties, the board will not comment further on this matter pending the outcome of the investigation.”

Burney’s complaint also alleged that Higgins engaged in “unethical behavior and unprofessional comments” when he allegedly referred to the Lincoln Fire Department as “a bunch of Neanderthals.” A former member of a Lincoln town board governing body who asked to remain anonymous said, “That stuff is not a surprise to me… I’ve heard that stuff out of his mouth many times.”

Also at the June 22 meeting, Higgins praised the performance of acting Fire Chief Brian Young and recommended his permanent appointment to the position. 

Planning Board member Gary Taylor noted on Wednesday that the Board of Selectmen are handling the issue as a confidential personnel matter. As to who might have sent the emails to LincolnTalk and the Lincoln Squirrel, “even if I knew, I wouldn’t comment at this point — it would be speculation,” he said. “We all have to honor our obligations for confidentiality in everyone’s interests.”

Reactions from Higgins and Burney

“I need to defer to the Select Board for any comments regarding the Town’s response to the charges that have been made,” Higgins said in an email to the Squirrel. “I support the need for a thorough independent investigation and have committed my full and open cooperation to the process. I have faith and trust in the Town’s processes.” In a follow-up email, he added, “I do not want to compromise the integrity of the Board’s investigation in any manner. I have faith that people will discern the truth.”

“I can confirm that I sent emails to the Board of Selectmen and Planning Board with a complaint against Tim Higgins,” Burney told the Lincoln Squirrel in an email. “I DID NOT send any emails to you or to Lincoln Talk. I consider my letter confidential and was addressed to the Boards and not to the public. I have no idea who sent that as only Board of Selectmen and Planning Board members were in receipt of my email.” Asked for further comment, she wrote in a second email, “At this time I have no comment and I’d really like everyone to respect my privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”

LincolnTalk suspended temporarily

Early Wednesday morning, the three volunteer LincolnTalk moderators sent out an email saying that, as a result of the spoofing, all posts would be held for approval until further notice. As of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, nothing had been posted since the service was suspended that morning. Previously, anyone could sign up for a free LincolnTalk account by supplying an email address and then post messages directly to all other members.

“We are cooperating with the police investigation… and proceeding with extreme caution,”said Margit Griffith, one of the moderators. “We want to get things back up and running as soon as possible, but we need to investigate safeguards as much as we can with our listserv provider… seeing what we need to do to protect ourselves and LincolnTalk. We’re now a little gun shy and we’re saddened that people used LincolnTalk in this way.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Griffith said moderators hoped to have LincolnTalk back in service soon, “but when we restart, it’s unlikely there will be much [we will] let through that has anything to do with this. This is a Town of Lincoln human resources matter that’s being dealt with there, and it will not be adjudicated on LincolnTalk.”
 
At about 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the moderators announced they we would start approving posts related to offers of free or for-sale items, general recommendations for service people, miscellaneous requests for information, and local events. No opinion pieces will be posted for the time being. “We’ll let you know when we’re ready to start bringing that sort of thing back. And we look forward to the day when we can release everyone from moderation and support and information can flow freely,” they wrote.

Police log for September 18–24, 2020

September 18

Hillside Road (12:20 p.m.) — Caller reported someone filed a fraudulent unemployment claim in their name.

deCordova Museum (4:58 p.m.) — Caller reported individuals parking and unloading fishing gear. Officer located the parties and advised them to move along.

South Great Road (7:54 p.m.) — Jonathan Caso, 23, of 63 Florence Rd. in Waltham was arrested for OUI–liquor and speeding. He was later bailed to appear in Concord District Court for arraignment.

September 19

Weston Road (9:07 p.m.) — Street sign knocked over. DPW notified.

September 20

Mill Street (6:36 p.m.) — Caller reported that a forklift was parked in her driveway. Forklift was found to belong to a landscaping company doing work on the property.

Lincoln Woods (7:32 pm.) — Caller reported fireworks going off opposite Lincoln Woods. Officers checked the area but were unable to locate.

September 21

Lincoln Woods (10:57 a.m.) — Caller reported that employees from the mall were seen throwing trash in his dumpster. Officers spoke to the business owner, who will look into the issue and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Harvest Circle, 1:05 p.m. — Officer took a report of an attempted fraud via on online takeover of the party’s computer. Report taken. The party suffered no financial loss.

Carroll School, Baker Bridge Road (2:55 p.m.) — Caller reported leaf blowers were being used at the school. Officer responded and found no leaf blowers being used.

Lincoln Road (11:32 p.m.) — Resident called reporting that they were possibly scammed and personal information was acquired online. An officer took a report and advised the person to put a fraud alert on their personal information.

September 22

South Great Road (9:50 a.m.) ­— Caller reported that two males pulled up their driveway in a vehicle. One man got out and walked around the side of the house while the other went to the front door. The homeowner spoke to the man at the front door and asked them to leave the property. The two parties left. Officers checked the area and were unable to find them.

Wheeler Road, Concord — Officer assisted Concord police who are busy with other calls by responding to a crash and assisting the parties in exchanging paperwork. No injuries.

Donelan’s parking lot (5:51 p.m.) — Caller reported he believes his car was scraped while parked in the lot. He was advised to file a report with his insurance company.

September 23

Lincoln School (1:48 a.m.) — Officer checking on a vehicle parked in the school located several teen walking around the property. Contact made with their their parents; teens were advised to drive directly home.

Weston Road (7:21 a.m.) — Caller complained about noise from construction in the area with the sound of music being played. Officer spoke to the workers and asked if they’d turn down the music. The workers were cooperative.

Russett Court (7:22 p.m.) — Caller reported they were scammed while attempting to use their stimulus money. Report taken; the party will follow up with customer service in the morning.

September 24

Bowles Terrace (10:03 p.m.) — Caller reported that someone filed a fraudulent unemployment claim. Report taken; caller was also given the state’s website to file a report.

Lexington Road (1:24 p.m.) — Officer delivered legal paperwork to a resident.

Indian Camp Lane (3:15 p.m.) — Caller requested a well-being check on a resident. While an officer was en route, the caller said they were able to speak with the resident.

Ridge Road (3:29 p.m.) — Caller reported their cat has been missing for a couple of days. Police have no reported of a found cat. 

Twin Pond Lane (4:44 p.m.) — Police received a 911 call reporting that a male had been stabbed in in a vehicle on Twin Pond Lane. As a result of an investigation, a juvenile was arrested and is facing delinquency charges of armed robbery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The juvenile was arraigned in Middlesex Juvenile Court on September 25. The victim sought treatment on their own at a local hospital. This was not a random act, but due to the age of the suspect, police could not provide further details. 

Greenridge Lane (7:06 p.m.) — Caller reported hearing gunshots. A subsequent caller reported hearing fireworks in the area. Police were unable to locate.

Lincoln Police Department (2:39 a.m.) — A party walked into the station looking to make a phone call for a ride due to their mobile phone dying. Party made arrangements for a ride home.