Vermont Teacher Charged With Sex Crimes Against Child Attempts Suicide

BRADFORD, Vt. – A teacher accused of molesting an 11-year-old boy wrote suicide notes before slashing his wrists in a failed suicide attempt Sunday.

Richard A. Foster, 51, remained hospitalized Monday and did not appear at an arraignment on a slew of sex charges filed after the boy's mother found text messages Foster allegedly sent to his former student that included sexually explicit photos of him touching himself.

Foster, a sixth-grade teacher at Bradford Elementary School, also made homemade child pornography, according to an affidavit. He's charged with aggravated sexual assault, lewd and lascivious conduct with a child, attempted luring of a child and sexual recording of a child.

Police said their investigation of Foster began Friday evening after they were informed of a report by a juvenile who formerly lived in Vermont to a police department in Florida.

"The Coral Springs PD detectives had been made aware that day of an allegation from a juvenile subject who previously lived in Orange County, Vt.," said the statement released by Vermont State Police on Sunday. "The juvenile subject had disclosed multiple incidents of sexual contact on him/her," allegedly by Foster.

Vermont detectives and troopers obtained and executed search warrants at Foster's home and the school on Saturday, police said, adding that "Foster was taken into custody without incident at his residence in Bradford."

Police said the searches turned up evidence, and that Foster was lodged at the state correctional facility in St. Johnsbury on several felony charges:

— Multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault on a minor;

— Lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor;

— Possession of child pornography;

— Use of a child in a sexual performance;

— And luring a child for sexual exploitation.

Foster made his $30,000 bail and was released from St. Johnsbury on Saturday evening, police said.

They were called again to his home on Sunday, where they found Foster "injured from a suicide attempt." The three responding officers provided emergency treatment and Foster was taken to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., in stable condition, police said. Police did not detail the nature of Foster's injuries.

Authorities contacted officials from the Bradford School District, who were planning a public information meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Oxbow Union High School to answer questions and concerns from residents.