Mistrial in case of ex-student accused of sexual assaults

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A mistrial was declared in the case of a man has been accused of sexually assaulting two children on the campus of St. Paul's school in New Hampshire in the 1970s.

Benjamin Baker, of Falls Church, Virginia, was arrested in February and charged with being a fugitive after Concord police issued a warrant charging him with a dozen sex crimes, including aggravated sexual assault.

He was accused of sexually assaulting two brothers who were the sons of Baker's faculty advisor when he was a student at St. Paul's.

The judge declared a mistrial this week, and the jury was deadlocked, the Concord Monitor reported. The case focused on the alleged assaults of the older brother.

The older brother took the stand Monday and described the two times he said Baker assaulted him.

He said the first time was when Baker visited their family on a break from college when the boy was in eighth grade. The second time was the following year when Baker was visiting campus and assaulted him during his first year at St. Paul's.

Police began investigating Baker in June 2017 when school administrators first learned of the allegations and reported them.

The victims did not report the abuse for decades because of their fear of humiliation and potential retribution by Baker, prosecutors said.

Baker's attorney Christine List declined to comment on the mistrial. She told the Monitor the Merrimack County Attorney's Office will decide if the case will be tried again.