Lowell guidance counselor accused of lewdness

LOWELL, Mass. (WHDH) -- A guidance counselor at Lowell High School is facing charges of open and gross lewdness.

John Silva, 54, is accused of following school buses in his car while exposing himself to the young children onboard.

“He would pull up and she would look down and he would be there. She would actually see the truck coming,” said Captain Kelly Richardson, Lowell Police Department. “He would pull up in traffic in the lane next to her.”

Police said Silva has done this several times since September. They said they were able to track him down thanks to a 13-year-old girl on one of the buses.

“On this particular day, Tuesday morning, she used her head and she took her cell phone and took a picture of his truck and wrote his plate down so I thought that was a great job,” said Captain Richardson.

According to court documents, Silva said his actions were the result of a medical condition and that he wasn't trying to draw attention to himself, but witnesses on the bus told police he clearly was.

“It’s despicable. He’s around our children every day. Regardless whether they are young or old, he obviously has a problem and he needs to be removed,” said a parent, Meg Dyer-Doyce.

“The allegations are very serious and they are concerning to us at this point. We need a little more time to read through them and to acquaint ourselves with them,” said Jay Lang, deputy superintendent of Lowell Public Schools.

In addition to being a guidance counselor, Silva is also a retired police officer from Hampton Beach, N.H. Lowell school officials said Silva is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case.