Rekha Luther violated probation terms by using drugs

A former Pembroke Academy dean convicted of felony drug charges in early 2018 violated her probation several months later by continuing to abuse narcotics, a judge ruled.

Rekha Luther, 39, of Manchester recently pleaded true to a violation of probation charge in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord. Despite the requirement of Luther’s original sentence that she remain of good behavior, Judge Richard McNamara did not impose any additional jail time last week for the probation violation.

A suspended prison sentence of 1½ to five years could still be imposed by the court if she reoffends or commits any other crimes in the next four years.

Luther was initially arrested in February 2016 after authorities found fentanyl in her desk at Pembroke Academy and testosterone propionate in her car parked at the high school. More than two years later, she pleaded guilty to one count each of possession of a narcotic drug and possession of a controlled drug, both in a school zone. She was sentenced to three months in jail, with credit for 20 days already served, as well as two years probation.

As part of her sentence, Luther voluntarily surrendered her teaching certificate in March 2018 to the state’s Department of Education.

Shortly after her release from jail that May, Luther told the Monitor that staying on the right path to maintain her sobriety is a daily fight. When she was arrested in early 2016, she was at the height of her career and living her dream as an educator. What few knew at the time is that she was also struggling with an increasing dependency on opioids that stemmed from her abuse of prescription pills following several surgeries.

“I feel like I have to fight even harder sometimes to stay in recovery because my family says, ‘Okay, jail is behind you, court is behind you, so you’re cured. You’re recovered.’ And it’s like, ‘Oh no, no. I am still very sick.’ I have to say, ‘Do you not see that I got into this addiction when I was doing what looked like the right thing,’ ” Luther said in an interview at her home one year ago. “Social acceptability does not equal recovery. Let’s face it, I was socially acceptable. I had a career in a very public area and I was still an addict.”

Over the past three years, Luther has participated in both inpatient and outpatient drug treatment programs. But her road to recovery has been met with challenges including relapses and a temporary suspension from the Aware Recovery Program due to “disengagement,” according to court documents.

Luther admitted during check-ins with her probation officer late last summer to using heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.

A judge imposed a seven-day jail sanction in September after Luther failed to report to her probation officer and admitted to using drugs, court records show. But just days after her release, Luther again told her probation officer she had used fentanyl.

When Luther didn’t appear in court in December after failing to pay her legal fees, McNamara issued a warrant for her arrest. The warrant was later vacated and she was ordered to remain under the supervision of the county’s pretrial services program pending last week’s probation hearing.

(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)