• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School news
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Business news
  • Embracing diversity
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Fire & police scanner
  • Worship
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Live gov’t meetings
  • 2023 Town Election
  • Events
  • About us
  • Natick Report
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley High cross country/assistant track coach arrested on child porn charges, fired by school

April 27, 2017 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

Wellesley High Track and FieldAll seemed normal on the surface at Wellesley High School’s track meet vs. Norwood on Thursday afternoon, as student-athletes competed, spectators enjoyed getting a break from the rain and school officials gave friendly greetings.  But sadly, things were anything but normal on this day.

Just as the meet was ending, the Wellesley Public School system issued an announcement by email that it had dismissed Walter Johnson, who has served as Wellesley High’s girls’ cross country coach and an assistant indoor/outdoor track coach (working mainly with jumpers) in recent years. The fact that Johnson wasn’t at the meet was unusual, but no cause for alarm. What was alarming is that the school’s action followed a revelation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the 69-year-old Framingham resident had been arrested and charged earlier in the day with one count of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography.

Following the disclosure, TV news vans descended on Wellesley High School, soliciting reactions of astonishment from random people in the area to air on their evening broadcasts. Wellesley Police made their presence felt at WHS on Friday morning to ensure news outfits didn’t impede learning.

The school system isn’t sharing much more information during this investigation period, but Superintendent David Lussier says WPS will keep the community updated. In addition to his coaching duties, Johnson had served as a special education teaching assistant at Wellesley Middle School from 2007 to 2015. He was known as a soft-spoken coach, often barely audible when making remarks at sports banquets.

Lussier emphasized that all Wellesley High employees, including Johnson, are fingerprinted and CORI checked before being hired. Johnson had no prior criminal record. He served as a cross country and track coach at Harvard University from the early 1980s until 2006, and  taught English at Wayland High School in the 1970s and 1980s, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Anyone with relevant information or questions about investigation can call 617-748-3274, a number established by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler scheduled a detention and probable cause hearing for May 1.

According to the charging document, in January 2017, federal agents began an investigation into child pornography being traded by a Craigslist user. The investigation led to Johnson, whose home was searched today. According to one report, an investigation into a police sergeant’s conduct led to Johnson’s alleged involvement.

The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine $250,000.

print

Filed Under: Sports, Wellesley High School, Wellesley Middle School

Comments

  1. Issac gardiner says

    April 28, 2017 at 8:46 am

    Well that explains the police presence and the shady news truck I saw at the high school this morning.

    I am delighted to see the police there as the last thing the kids need today is to be hassled by media whose only interest is to write a story that uses the words “tony”, “leafy”, “wellesley” and “child pornography” in the same sentence.

    Reply
    • Issac Gardiner says

      April 28, 2017 at 2:05 pm

      I should clarify that the reason I deemed the news truck “shady” was because it was nothing but a black vehicle with a satellite dish on top. It had no markings identifying where it was from (at least on the passenger side). The two individuals standing immediately next to it did little to dispel the appearance of shadiness, either.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisements:

Linden Square, Wellesley
EXPLO, Wellesley
Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
charles river chamber
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Most Read Posts

  • Voting rights expert to give talk at Wellesley College
  • Wellesley High parents pan standards-based grading, school leaders say improvements planned
  • EXPLO Junior summer program launches at Regis College in Weston
  • Wellesley Public Schools news: Union issues vote of no confidence as negotiations continue; DE&I director ditches 'interim' tag; 'Emotional Lives of Teens' program
  • Wellesley Club gets update on town affairs

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Upcoming Events

Mar 25
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical

Mar 26
10:00 am - 10:30 am

6th annual “Plunge for Elodie”

Mar 26
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Historical lecture: The Whartons’ War

Mar 26
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

History talk: The Whartons’ War

Mar 26
2:00 pm - 4:30 pm

The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • Charles on Wellesley High parents pan standards-based grading, school leaders say improvements planned
  • Mike on Time is right for new owners of Wellesley’s Coconut Thai Cafe
  • Ken on Wellesley High parents pan standards-based grading, school leaders say improvements planned
  • J covino on Wellesley High parents pan standards-based grading, school leaders say improvements planned
  • LADY WELLESLEY on Wellesley High parents pan standards-based grading, school leaders say improvements planned

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (13)
  • Animals (429)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (596)
  • Beyond Wellesley (53)
  • Books (380)
  • Business (1,568)
  • Camp (11)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (241)
  • Construction (301)
  • Dump (131)
  • Education (3,219)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (37)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (48)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (47)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (615)
    • Wellesley High School (1,008)
    • Wellesley Middle School (208)
  • Embracing diversity (97)
  • Entertainment (823)
  • Environment (779)
  • Fashion (145)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (174)
  • Food (360)
  • Fundraising (650)
  • Gardens (165)
  • Government (625)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (870)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (403)
  • Holidays (442)
  • Houses (164)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (869)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (89)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (584)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (282)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (658)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (786)
    • Crime (398)
  • Politics (560)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (7)
  • Real estate (348)
  • Religion (139)
  • Restaurants (345)
  • Safety (156)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (128)
  • Shopping (164)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,025)
    • Athlete of the Week (14)
  • STEM (109)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (26)
  • Transportation (242)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,246)
  • Volunteering (351)
  • Weather (180)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (282)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login