A shortage of jurors delayed the trial Wednesday of first-term Haverhill School Committee member Cheryl A. Ferguson, charged with alleged indecent assault and battery on a teenage boy.
The trial is now scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, after Haverhill District Court Judge Cesar A. Archilla was unable to seat a full jury of six and one alternate. Archilla spent more than four hours training and certifying a pool of 17 potential jurors, but after 12 were excused for various reasons, he announced the trial could not proceed.
“We can go forward with six but not with five so I thank you for your service,” Archilla told the two men and three women who were successfully seated.
Fifty-nine-year-old Ferguson, who represents Ward 3 on the School Committee, was arrested last Oct. 29 after a teenager’s mother told police her son was wearing a Halloween mask and standing outside of the 7-Eleven convenience store on Dudley Street, off Main Street, when Ferguson approached him.
A police report said, Ferguson allegedly “proceeded to grope his buttocks.” On her way out of the store, police also allege, she again approached him, “this time, grabbing, at his chest area stating ‘oh, you have nipples.’” After the teen asked Ferguson to leave, the report continued, she allegedly called him a “creep.” Police quoted the family as saying the action made him feel “shocked and violated” and “uncomfortable.”
The aborted jury selection process on followed a hearing on two motions from Ferguson’s attorney, Maria Murber. Murber asked the judge to allow the introduction of video footage her private investigator Brian Brunault obtained from the 7-Eleven. Murber said the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Vera, had provided her clips from the store’s security system but that she believes it is important to introduce a more complete version.
Ferguson was first elected to the School Committee in November of 2023 for a two-year term. Following her arraignment last fall, Ferguson was ordered to stay away from the minor and anyone else below the age of 18, adhere to a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and return to court in December. School Superintendent Margaret Marotta has also restricted Ferguson’s access to school buildings.
According to court records, Ferguson was found guilty of driving while under the influence of liquor, second offense, in 2018, and lost her license for three months. She was also arrested previously for assault and battery in 2019 and other motor vehicle-related charges.