Malden school employee on leave after alleged incident with student

Malden police are investigating an undisclosed incident within the city’s public school district which led to an employee being placed on leave.

Superintendent Timothy Sippel announced in a community statement Sunday that a “serious incident” is alleged to have occurred involving the employee and one of the district’s high school students. Malden police informed the district Feb. 19 that the employee was being investigated.

The employee was confirmed to work at the Linden School, also known as the Linden STEAM Academy, which serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade. As of Sunday, no arrests have been made or charges filed in the wake of the allegations, according to the statement.

Nevertheless, the district opted to place the employee on administrative leave “out of an abundance of caution and to ensure our students’ safety,” according to Sippel. The alleged incident occurred outside of working hours, according to the statement. No further information was available as of Tuesday night.

“I will share more information once it has been released by local law enforcement,” Sippel said in the statement. “Please be assured we will continue to do everything necessary to protect the safety of our students and staff, which is our highest priority.”