crime

Former Kent School employee to face hearing for alleged sexual misconduct

KENT — A former information technology employee at the Kent School will face arraignment at Waterbury Superior Court on Dec. 11 for felony charges relating to accessing photographs of underage students, among others, during his employment at the institution.

The suspect is Daniel Clery, 47, who was employed by the Kent School for more than 20 years before his termination last year.

A Nov. 2 report by Clara Molot in the digital newsletter Air Mail detailed the history of the case, which goes back to February 2023 when an employee of the school allegedly spotted a photo of her on the accused’s phone.

Air Mail reported nine current students, 59 recent graduates, seven employees and four former employees (all mostly female) are alleged to be victims of Clery’s, who is said to have abused the school’s software management system to upload photos from their computers. Clery is also alleged to have accessed students’ private accounts in order to obtain personal files from emails. The article in Air Mail drew these findings from a report by a private consulting firm called Vancord that was hired by Kent School to investigate the case.

The article also claimed that Clery had found a job within Yale University’s IT department shortly after leaving the Kent School.

Attempts to reach both Kent School and Yale have yet to yield a response.

Clery appeared at Waterbury Superior Court on the morning of Nov. 22, where he was represented by attorney Mark Ouellette of Middlebury. His time at the stand was brief; the case was promptly transferred to Part A court, where the most serious (greater than Class D felony) cases are handled, according to a lawyer at Field Law Office in Enfield, Connecticut. A tentative time of 10 a.m. was scheduled for the court appearance on Dec. 11.

Ouellette declined to comment on the case before the trial date.

crime

Latest News

'Gather' at Troutbeck

'Gather' at Troutbeck

Romane Recalde speaking about her new business at Gather.

Natalia Zukerman

Hosted by Jason Klein and Sascha Lewis, an ongoing series called “Gather” at Troutbeck in Amenia brings together a curious crowd of local entrepreneurs, artists, and others with a story to tell for an intimate midday chat. On Thursday, Jan. 16, floral designer Romane Recalde, owner of the newly opened Le Jardin in Amenia, took center stage to share her journey from modeling in Miami to cultivating flowers in the Hudson Valley. Gather is a place to share stories, swap advice, and celebrate some of the unique businesses that make our area vibrant — all with a delicious lunch on the side. The gatherings are unconventional in the best way, with no agenda beyond good conversation and community building.

Recalde’s story isn’t just about creating a flower shop; it’s about a complete reinvention of self. “I hated Miami so much,” said the French-born Recalde, recalling her time in Florida before moving to New York. She worked as a model in New York, and eventually met her husband, James. Their pandemic escape to Turks and Caicos turned into a six-month stay, which in turn led them to Millbrook and finally to their home in Amenia, where Recalde’s connection to nature blossomed.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Mad Rose opens ‘Assembled’ exhibition

Mad Rose opens ‘Assembled’ exhibition
Mad Rose Gallery director Michael Flowers contributed to the gallery's "Assembled" exhibit with a series of collaged landscape photographs
Nathan Miller

Mad Rose Gallery’s “Assembled” exhibition opened Saturday, Jan. 18, with a public reception.

The eclectic exhibition — on view until March 2 at the gallery on the intersection of Routes 22 and 44 in Millerton — gathers together work from a group of diverse artists with decades of experience between them. The exhibition itself is true to the name, featuring photographs, sculptures, drawings and mixed media works in all shapes and sizes.

Keep ReadingShow less
exhibit

The fragile bonds of family: a review of Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters'

The fragile bonds of family: a review of Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters'

Betsy Lerner’s 'Shred Sisters' is written with such verve and poetic imagination that it’s hard to fathom how it could be the author’s first novel. Ms. Lerner, 64, has worked for three decades as a literary agent, editor, and non-fiction writer, but at some point during the Covid pandemic — without any forethought — she sat down and typed out the first line of the novel exactly as it now appears in the book, and then completed it without telling anyone what she was up to.

The novel takes place over twenty years — from the 1970s into the ’90s — and is a kind of guide for that era. It reads like a memoir accompanied by some bouncy dialogue, but is actually a work of what’s called autofiction in which Lerner mixes her own experiences — including her own struggle with mental illness — with things she simply makes up. The fictional narrator is Amy Shred, the younger of two sisters in an upper-middle-class, secular Jewish family living in the suburbs of New Haven, Connecticut.

Keep ReadingShow less
books

Lazy, hazy days of...winter?

Lazy, hazy days of...winter?

This small stream is fishable, despite the wintry conditions. It probably won't be a pleasant or productive experience, but it can be done.

Patrick L. Sullivan

When syndicated columnists run out of ideas they do one of two things.

First they collect the last couple year’s worth of columns and call it a book. These are published to great acclaim from other syndicated columnists and show up in due course in gigantic, ziggurat-shaped mounds at Costco for $4.98 a pop.

Keep ReadingShow less