Former Tabor teacher charged with raping student

MARION -- A former English teacher at Tabor Academy has been arraigned on 12 charges of rape after allegedly abusing a student over a three-year period.

Nannie Clough was arraigned Aug. 17 in Brockton Superior Court on the rape charges and one count of intimidating a witness.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released without bail. She was ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim and to surrender her passport.

The female victim was “sexually exploited’’ starting at age 15, according to her attorney Kristen Knuuttila. Clough “groomed our client, opening her home to her and gaining her trust,’’ the attorney said.

The abuse lasted from 1996 to 1999, Knuuttila said.

The abuse continued even after the girl left Tabor, Knuuttila said. Clough threatened to kill herself, the attorney said, if the girl ever told anyone.

“The most insidious part of the abuse was the fact that Clough took our client into her fold and became like a surrogate mother, Knuuttila said. “She gained our client’s trust and then brutally abused and betrayed her.’’

In a statement, Tabor Academy urged anyone with information about employee misconduct or abuse to reach out.

“With a commitment to student safety, Tabor Academy previously engaged a nationally recognized firm to perform an external investigation into reports of historical sexual misconduct. The primary focus of the investigation was to identify and support members of our community who experienced sexual misconduct by a Tabor employee during their time at the school.

In 2022, the school shared a summary of findings from that investigation with our community. No employees who had committed misconduct were named in the summary in order to protect the identity of the former students and witnesses who participated in the investigation.

Our school expressed its deepest apologies that these members of our community experienced any type of misconduct or abuse. Tabor also advised its community that the school completed additional work to ensure a safe living and learning environment for all members of the community.

While we do not have any additional information to share, the school encourages anyone who has information about employee misconduct or abuse to share that information at headofschool@taboracademy.org so that we can promptly take appropriate action including notifying authorities, investigating as needed, providing support, and communicating with our community. ''   

A request for comment from Clough’s attorney was not immediately returned.