Updated: Man Charged with Assaulting Child Was Former SHS Debate Team Coach

A former Swampscott man arraigned Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a 9-year-old girl in 2006 was the debate coach — a volunteer position — at about two years ago, the superintendent said.

Douglas Reeves, 58, of 100 Beacon St., #6, Boston, is charged with under 14 for allegedly touching a private area of a child in 2006 at his Swampscott home.

Reeves, a national expert on student and teacher assessments, has not lived in Swampscott since 2009.

In the original version of this story, Swampscott Superintendent Lynne Celli said that Reeves had not been in the school system or any of the schools during her tenure, which began with the 2010-11 school year.

But after talking to the high school principal on Wednesday, she realized that Reeves was the debate coach until the end of the 2011 school year, the end of the superintendent's first year with the district.

The judge entered a not guilty plea for the defendant in Lynn District Court on Tuesday, and his laywer says the charges are not true.

Reeves was released on his own personal recognizance under several conditions restricting his contact with children.

They include no entry to any elementary or junior high school without an adult present.

Reeves is the founder of The Leadership and Learning Center, which serves school systems around the world, according to the center's Web Site.

It also states he is the author of 30 books and numerous articles on leadership and organizational effectiveness.

Reeves is due back in Lynn District Court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 24.