Haverhill Ward 3 School Committee member Cheryl A. Ferguson was found not guilty Wednesday of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 as well as the lesser charge of assault and battery.
The Haverhill District Court jury deliberated for about 20 minutes before returning its verdict. First Justice Cesar A. Archilla was the presiding judge.
“This is the best birthday present ever,” an elated Ferguson told WHAV outside the court. Ferguson, who turned 60 Wednesday, added, “How do I feel? Not guilty.”
Ferguson was arrested last Oct. 29 after a teenager’s mother told Haverhill 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.”
The Haverhill High School teen who made the allegations was identified in court but WHAV is not releasing the name because he was a minor at the time.
Juror Marian Willis said testimony and security camera footage from the 7-Eleven indicated that two alleged assault incidents never happened.
“The cameras told a different story,” she told WHAV. “It didn’t add up,” she said.
During court testimony Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Vera introduced a video clip which showed a shadow which the teen said was him up against the wall outside the 7-Eleven. In the next minute a small dog and woman exit the convenience store. She stops and turns to look at the wall and then walks away.
Ferguson’s attorney, Maria Murber, introduced another video clip from a different exterior camera which showed her client entering the store about six minutes earlier. A costumed individual is in the parking lot interacting with someone in a car. While on the stand and under oath the teen identified that person as himself. In her closing statement Murber said the video footage showed the teen was engaged with someone else when Ferguson arrived so Ferguson could not have groped him. As to the moments when she was exiting the store, Murber suggested whatever Ferguson said or did was a reaction to seeing a scary figure.
Ferguson said she intends to finish out her School Committee term, which ends on Dec. 31, but she will not run for re-election. She was first elected in November 2023.
“This incident, these charges, caused me to lose my reputation and my job,” Ferguson said, noting that she has lived in Haverhill for 30 years. “Running for School Committee really ruined me.”
Her attorney added that she felt abandoned by friends and supporters and she needs time to recover.