Former Duxbury hockey coach accused of rape barred from coaching indefinitely

John Blake, who coached varsity hockey for decades, settled earlier this year with the family of the student whom he was accused of raping repeatedly.

Former Duxbury hockey coach and teacher John Blake, who was fired following accusations of repeatedly raping a middle school student, was indefinitely barred from coaching Wednesday by a national watchdog group.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport, an independent organization authorized by Congress, deemed Blake permanently ineligible to coach with USA Hockey due to sexual misconduct that involved a minor, according to their database.

The decision, which could still be appealed, was issued Wednesday. Blake’s lawyer did not return a request for comment Thursday evening.

In 2021, Joseph and Melissa Foley sued Blake in Plymouth Superior Court for $1 million. Their son died the year before from an accidental drug overdose at age 27.

The suit alleged that in the mid-2000s, Blake would hold Joseph Parker Foley back from class and sexually abuse him until the child brought a knife to school and threatened to kill Blake.

At the time, police said they investigated but didn’t charge Blake because the victim had died.

Blake, who was the varsity boys hockey coach at Duxbury High School for nearly two decades, was fired a week after the suit was filed. An independent report contracted by the district did not find explicit evidence of sexual abuse but said that Blake was not credible.

The lawsuit against Blake was settled earlier this year for a confidential amount of money after the judge ruled in favor of the Foleys and against Blake on all counts.