DA: Teacher Gave Drugs to Student Athlete

A Massachusetts high school teacher and swim coach accused of giving OxyCodone and Diazepam to a former student athlete in 2014 was arraigned Tuesday morning.

Twenty-eight-year-old Elizabeth Backler, who used to work at North Andover High School, was arrested at her Newburyport home Monday evening, Essex D.A.'s office said.

Backler, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of distributing a class B drug and one count of distributing a class C drug, was released on personal recognizance and ordered to stay away from the high school and the victim, and ordered to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18. 

Backler allegedly gave a 16-year-old student on the girl's swim team the prescription pain medication to treat a shoulder injury while she was working at North Andover High School. She's currently a biology and life sciences teacher at Amesbury Academy Charter Public School.

North Andover Public Schools' superintendent Dr. Jennifer Price says the district was first alerted by a parent about "potential concerning behavior" on Backer's part in June 2105, after she was no longer an employee.

The school immediately reported the issue to police, and police launched an investigation, Dr. Price said in a statement.

"The police have informed us that to the best of their knowledge this is an isolated incident only involving a single student," Dr. Price's statement concluded.

Meanwhile, Amesbury Public Schools released a statement saying the district is taking the allegations seriously, and that Backler has been placed on paid administrative leave. The district added no Amesbury students were involved to its knowledge.

Backler is scheduled to return to court on November 3, 2015 for a pre-trial hearing.

Stay with necn and www.necn.com as this story develops.

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