A jury of five women and two men were seated for the trial of Cheryl A. Ferguson, the Haverhill School Committee member charged last fall with alleged indecent assault on a person over 14.
The criminal trial got underway at Haverhill District Court Tuesday and it set to continue Wednesday with First Justice Cesar A. Archilla presiding. The teen who lodged the complaint was identified in court but WHAV is not releasing the name because he was a minor at the time.
Ferguson, 59, who represents Ward 3 on the School Committee, was arrested last Oct. 29 after the teenager’s mother told police Ferguson approached her son twice as he was standing outside the 7-Eleven on Dudley Street wearing a Mike Myers costume and mask in celebration of Halloween. According to the police report, Ferguson allegedly approached the teen from behind and groped his buttocks and then entered the convenience store. When she came out, she again allegedly approached him poking his chest and calling him “a creep.” The police report quoted his mother as saying the action made her son feel “shocked and violated” and “uncomfortable.”
Haverhill Police Officer Lauren Bonnell was the first witness to take the stand. Under questioning from Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Vera, Bonnell said she was working the night shift when she was called back to the Haverhill Police station to interview the teen and his mother. She then went to Ferguson’s house, arrested her and brought her into the station for booking.
The teen was the next person to testify. Vera showed him dark and grainy video footage from a 7-Eleven surveillance camera. He identified a tall shadow as himself and a shorter one as Ferguson. When questioned by Ferguson’s attorney, Maria Murber, the video footage was called into question. Murber showed other footage from a second camera which indicated the teen was in the parking lot well away from the front door when Ferguson arrived.
After several attempts to match up the time stamps on the two sets of videos, Archilla ended court for the day with instructions to defense to create a clearer presentation.
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. Haverhill School Superintendent Margaret Marotta has also restricted Ferguson’s access to school buildings.