AUGUSTA — A Winslow High School teacher and coach pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawful sexual touching of a teenage student and was forced to resign.

Scott R. Wood, 38, of Oakland gave the district attorney a written apology as part of a plea agreement, saying he was sorry to authorities, Winslow’s school community, his family, the victim and her family.

“I accept responsibility for my actions,” Wood wrote.

After his plea in Kennebec County Superior Court, Wood was granted a day to gather his belongings from Winslow High School. He will serve six months in the county jail starting today.

District Attorney Evert Fowle said Tuesday that Wood pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful sexual touching of a girl younger than 18, in exchange for the dismissal of a second count of unlawful touching.

Wood was sentenced to 364 days in jail, with all but six months suspended.

The victim and her family attended Tuesday’s hearing and delivered emotional statements, Fowle said.

“I think (Wood) wanted to accept responsibility for what he did and he wanted to spare the victim the difficulty that a trial would have had, so I think he thought it was in his interest to plead guilty early in the process,” Fowle said.

For a year after his release from jail, Wood will be prohibited from contact with the victim, her family or any other girl younger than 18 unless he is related to her and has written permission.

He also must stay off Winslow school property, surrender his teaching certificate and pay $2,000 in restitution.

Wood is married and has children, school officials have said.

He coached girls soccer for 13 years, since 1998, and before that he coached soccer in Gorham. His soccer teams won seven regional titles and one state championship.

In 2002-03, Wood’s first season as coach of the Winslow boys basketball team, the Black Raiders won their first state championship in 64 years.

Wood did not return a message left at his home Tuesday.

His attorney, Joshua Tardy, said his client “is very sorry for the events that led to the criminal charges and this morning’s plea.”

Wood’s arrest on June 24 and his guilty plea 18 days later highlighted the rapid downfall of a well-respected coach and teacher. Since his arrest, Wood has been free on unsecured bond.

Wood, who was a social science teacher, was put on administrative leave last month, after a parent reported the incidents for which he was later arrested.

Jim Poulin, an assistant coach of the boys basketball team, said he was astounded when the allegations surfaced last month. Poulin said he always had good experiences with Wood.

“I was in awe of how he handled tough situations with kids and not make the kid feel like they failed,” Poulin said.

Police initially said they expected to file additional charges against Wood and asked that parents call police if they believed their children had had inappropriate contact with Wood.

Ultimately, no additional charges were filed and no one else came forward with allegations against Wood, Winslow police said.

 

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