School Counselor Enters Not Guilty Plea

High School counselor Thomas Healey pleaded not guilty to a  felony breaking-and-entering charge at his arraignment Thursday in Lynn District Court.

Healey remains free on conditions. They are that he stays away from the Humphrey Street address he is accused of breaking into and that he stays away from Swampscott High School, the judge ordered.

He is scheduled to return to Lynn District Court for a pretrial hearing on July 27.

In the meantime he faces the potential  of 60 days in jail without bail if he is arrested, a court spokesman said.

Healey had no comment outside the courtroom.

On May 11, about 9:30 a.m., police responded to a report of a man climbing through a window at a Humphrey Street address, court records state.

Police questioned Healey  at the scene and brought him to the station for questioning by detectives, court records state.

The school adjustment counselor later told police that the house belonged to a coworker at Swampscott High School, and that he had entered in search of prescription drugs, the records state.

Healey was given a summons to appear in court on charges of breaking and entering a building during the daytime, a felony, and having a knife with a blade longer than 2 1/2 inches long, a violation.

The breaking-and-entering charge alleges that Healey entered the Humphrey Street residence with the intent to commit a felony.

Superintendent of Schools Lynne Celli said after the incident that Healey had been placed on administrative leave and that he had been told to stay off school property while the investigation takes place.

At arraignments courts inform defendants of the charges they face. In response they typically enter a plea: not guilty or guilty.