ANDOVER — The Select Board will hold its third executive session in nine days on Wednesday to discuss strategy related to the lawsuit filed by the town’s former 27-year youth center director who was fired for alleged misconduct in 2021.
William Fahey and his attorney Daniel Murphy filed a civil complaint for wrongful termination in the summer of 2021 against Town Manager Andrew Flanagan. Fahey was fired after a woman, identified as MJ in court documents and who met him as a teenager, accused him of inappropriate behavior.
The executive sessions come weeks before a final trial conference and jury trial are set to take place in Essex County Superior Court in Lawrence later this month.
Fahey has argued he was unfairly terminated due to a report generated by a third-party investigation. He also claims Flanagan, individually and as town manager, defamed his character and discredited his reputation in the community through emails sent to the Select Board and public.
Fahey has also argued Flanagan and the town acted in bad faith to terminate his employment by relying on a woman’s accusations against him, despite the investigator questioning her credibility.
In 2020, the 26-year-old MJ accused Fahey of engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior with her beginning at 16, while he supervised the Andover Youth Services program.
At the time, the District Attorney’s office determined Fahey’s alleged conduct was not criminal, even if the accusations were true, according to court documents.
The town launched its own investigation into the woman’s accusations and hired Discrimination and Harassment Solutions LLC. Fahey was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation’s results.
The report found that the woman’s credibility was compromised and identified concerns with her memory issues and inconsistent statements. The investigator also noted how the allegations amounted to, at most, sexual harassment and not sexual assault.
However, the report noted “significant gaps” in Fahey’s credibility, according to court documents.
The report concluded there was sufficient evidence Fahey violated the town’s computer-use policy regarding pornographic material and his “expressions of affection” violated the town’s sexual harassment policy. It also noted his actions were “inconsistent” with his role as a youth services director and recommended disciplinary action.
The town informed Fahey he was being terminated in April 2021. Fahey opposed it, saying there was not “just cause” to fire him. He argued the town relied on accusations to determine if he engaged in “indiscretions” outside the scope of the investigation.
He was ultimately terminated by Flanagan in May 2021.
Essex Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Dunigan determined in August 2025 that the case was best left for a jury to decide after denying a motion made by Flanagan for summary judgment on the complaint.
Since then, both parties have submitted witness and exhibit lists. A judge also allowed Flanagan and the town’s request to exclude the reports and trial testimony of two witnesses: Mary Wesson and Robert Fisher.
Wesson proposed to testify regarding “practices relating to at-risk youth and to offer opinions that certain conduct attributed to Fahey was ‘appropriate’ in the context of providing youth services,” according to a memorandum of decision to exclude the two expert witnesses testimony dated April 10.
Judge Matthew Nestor determined in April that Wesson’s testimony would not constitute reliable expert testimony despite her decades of work in Andover assisting young people. The court ruled her report didn’t identify professional standards, but rather reached conclusions based on her familiarity with Fahey and “general observations over the years.”
Wesson also testified during an evidentiary hearing that she didn’t review facts or data related to the case. Rather her understanding of it came from newspaper accounts.
Nestor also found her opinion endorsed credibility for Fahey’s conduct and she was unreliable with her opinions concerning appropriate professionalism in youth services.
Fisher was to testify regarding “reputational harm Fahey allegedly suffered as a result of communications surrounding the investigation and termination,” Nestor said.
The court found Fisher did not identify “any reliable methodology capable of measuring reputational harm or isolating causation.”
“Expert testimony must do more than place professional credentials behind one party’s narrative,” Nestor said.
On June 11, Flanagan submitted a supplemental witness list to the court.
Former Andover police Chief Brian Patullo and police Chief Patrick Keefe are among seven additional witnesses who Flanagan and the town may call. The list also includes former youth services employee Sobhan Namvar and Andover High School social worker Christian Grange.