Teacher’s robbery hearings delayed

Friday, March 12, 2010

Two probable cause hearings for Gail Rasmussen, the Hollis/Brookline Middle School teacher accused of robbing two banks in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut in December, have been postponed, court officials said.

Most recently, the hearing in Lowell (Mass.) District Court, originally scheduled for March 5, was postponed until April 27, a court clerk said Monday.

Rasmussen’s other hearing, originally set for Feb. 23 in Concord (Mass.) District Court, was rescheduled for March 22.

Rasmussen, 49, a 10-year teacher who taught at Hollis/Brookline Middle School since 2005, is charged with robbing banks in Tyngsborough and Concord, Mass., and Plainfield, Conn., over five days in mid- December.

She turned herself in to Concord, Mass., Police on Jan. 6, and was later released on $500 bail and ordered to enter a gambling treatment program.

Hollis/Brookline school officials placed Rasmussen on paid administrative leave after her arrests. A week later, she submitted her resignation, which was effective Jan. 15.

Police estimated Rasmussen pocketed between $1,500 and $3,000 in each robbery.

– Dean Shalhoup