An Aroostook County school superintendent was arrested after trying to coerce a woman to drop domestic violence charges against the superintendent’s son, police said.
Elaine Boulier, 61, of Mars Hill first appeared March 8 in court in Presque Isle, charged with two felonies, tampering with a victim and violation of release conditions, Aroostook County District Attorney Todd Collins said Wednesday.
The charges stem from a domestic violence case against Boulier’s son, Connor Boulier. Court records allege that she attempted to coerce the victim to drop the charges. She remained at work on Wednesday and is not suspended, according to Troy Grass, chairperson of the SAD 42 school board.
“The only thing I’m going to say is that it is a private family matter that has nothing to do with the district,” Boulier told a reporter.
SAD 42 serves Mars Hill, Blaine and Bridgewater with two schools, Fort Street Elementary School and Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill. Boulier has been superintendent for about eight years. She also served as Van Buren’s superintendent from 2016 to 2021.
Chief Deputy Joey D. Seeley said the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office arrested Elaine Boulier Jan. 25 on the charges, which are class C felonies punishable by up to 5 years incarceration and a $5,000 fine.
Her son, Connor Boulier, 27, was arrested and jailed in August on charges including domestic violence assault, reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence criminal threatening.
The woman, who was pregnant at the time of his arrest, told a sheriff’s deputy that she was afraid for her unborn baby and herself, according to court documents.
Police said they began investigating Elaine Boulier in December when they learned Connor Boulier had asked his mother to urge the victim to write to the district attorney and drop the charges against him.
While investigating Elaine Boulier, the deputy reviewed portions of 441 phone calls Connor Boulier made from the Aroostook County Jail, including some to his mother, her arrest report said. The calls spanned a three-month period from Sept. 1 to Dec. 5, 2022.
Over several calls, Connor Boulier allegedly urged his mother to talk to the woman about dropping the charges.
Boulier told her son on several occasions not to worry, that she was taking care of it and that she had been working with the woman to make sure she sent a letter to the district attorney’s office, according to the deputy’s report.
“After listening to the phone calls that I listened to, it is obvious that [Connor] Boulier has been tampering with [the woman] in order to convince her to drop the charges, and that Elaine has also been tampering with [her] in order to get her to drop the charges,” Deputy Erica Pelletier said in her report.
Pelletier arrested and charged Elaine Boulier with tampering with a victim and for violation of condition of release as an accomplice, court records said. She faces a June 7 arraignment at Presque Isle District Court, Collins said.
