BROCKTON — A Superior Court judge ruled that explosive allegations against Tony Branch, chairman of the Southeastern School Committee, “appear to be substantially true.”
Justice Brian S. Glenny issued an order on Monday in an ongoing defamation suit Branch brought against Worcester blogger Aidan Kearney, who uses the pen name “Turtleboy.” Kearney had published divorce court records in which Branch’s ex-wife alleges that Branch had sex with her when she was 15. Branch denies it.
A key passage from Glenny’s order reads: “The statements that Branch has a history with underage girls, molested his ex-wife, had orders taken out against him by family members, had substantial amounts of credit card debt and unpaid taxes, violated an abuse prevention order, defrauded the government to get Section 8 and DCF benefits, and used a Muslim name while claiming to be a Christian minister are based largely on information set forth in court records and other public documents and appear to be substantially true.”
Branch had sought a “preliminary injunction” to stop Kearney from publishing further statements about him, contacting him, harassing him or disclosing his personal information. Branch also asked the judge to have Kearney take down social media posts about him. Glenny ruled that Branch was not likely to succeed on these claims, in part because they are “exceptionally broad.” Glenny further ruled that the preliminary injunction Branch was seeking “poses a serious threat to free speech.”
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A high bar for ‘prior restraint’
Judges have traditionally set a high bar for “prior restraint,” most famously in the case of the Pentagon Papers.
The defamation case itself continues. Branch, who has been representing himself, asked the court on Thursday to appoint a lawyer for him.
In March, Kearney published an incendiary allegation that Branch had sex with his wife when she was 15 years old and he was approximately 35 years old before they were married. Kearney pulled the sensational charge from court documents filed by Branch’s ex-wife during a divorce.
According to documents from Branch’s divorce case, Justice Lisa A. Roberts found that whether or not the specific alleged instance when his ex-wife was 15 did occur, Branch’s denial of “any sexual relationship with Wife before they moved together to Oak Street is not credible.”
His ex-wife would have been 18 at the time the couple lived at Oak Street and Branch was approximately 38 years old.
Branch, in a previous interview with The Enterprise, said that the quote misrepresents the situation.
“That’s not what the judge said,” Branch said, referring to the divorce court judge, not Glenny’s Monday ruling.
Further, Branch said that had a judge believed that such a serious allegation had merit, that judge would have referred the case to prosecutors.
“If I’d done something like that, I would’ve been charged,” Branch said.
Branch later told The Enterprise he’d have no further comment about his ex-wife or their divorce. In a court filing made Thursday, Branch swore his innocence, saying “I never raped, molested, or dated an ‘underaged girl'” and that “no family members have ever taken out an order against me other than my ex-wife.”
According to public records in Massachusetts and Florida, Branch and his ex-wife married in May 2007. Branch sued his then-wife for divorce in 2013, and a judge granted the divorce in July 2016.
The Enterprise has also reported in 2017 on controversies involving Branch, such as a firearms charge and federal tax lien.
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On March 24, Branch submitted a motion to have the divorce case impounded after Kearney published portions of the documents on his blog.
“The exposure of my divorce files is irreparable harm to me and my children,” Branch stated in the motion.
Several times since April 20, Enterprise reporters sought documents from the divorce, and were told the divorce case was “under advisement” with Roberts. On Thursday, the Probate and Family Court provided copies of Robert’s findings of fact.
Calls for Branch to resign
The complicated legal situation is playing out against an evolving political situation for Branch.
Superintendent Luis Lopes of the Southeastern Regional School District has asked Branch to step aside as chairman of the district’s school committee. The district’s teacher’s union, Local 1849 of the American Federation of Teachers, released a letter saying its members had lost confidence in Branch. The letter asks Branch to resign as chairman, recuse himself from the superintendent selection process and take a leave of absence from the School Committee.
The committee does not have the authority to remove Branch as chairman or from the committee entirely, as there would need to be a public recall vote to do so, according to Lopes. That hasn’t stopped School Committee members from formally asking Branch to step aside.
On Monday, the board deadlocked 5-5 on a call to end Branch’s leadership. Branch voted for himself, which is his right according to Jim Hardy, an expert on Massachusetts law surrounding school committees.
On April 12, the board tried to censure Branch, with the vote failing 5-4. Branch voted for himself on that occasion as well, though the censure would have failed 4-4 even without his vote.
Branch says he won’t resign. In a Wednesday email, he said he plans to stay on as chair through the end of his term in November.
What this means for the superintendent search
The School Committee is hiring a new superintendent to replace Lopes, who plans to retire this summer. On Monday, Hardy said that search is six weeks behind schedule.
In the email, Branch pushed back against the idea that the superintendent search is bogged down.
“The last search took three months to make a decision to hire Dr. Lopes after the process concluded. So none of this is unusual,” Branch wrote in reference to the timeline.
In October 2021, the School Committee adopted a draft timeline aiming to have site visits with the candidates the first two weeks of March, choose a superintendent by April 12, and have that person start on July 1.
The School Committee has scheduled a series of site visits with the four remaining finalists starting next week.
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