Documents reveal complaints of abuse

High school allegations

Posted

Correction appended.

A DeWitt Clinton High School teacher was dismissed for sleeping with a student after she gave birth to his child and bought wedding rings.

A Kennedy instructor retired when a student told investigators they slept together, adding fresh allegations to his history of alleged sexual misconduct.

Two educators assigned to Clinton and the Bronx High School of Science were barred form working for the Department of Education after officials said they were caught communicating with students in a sexually suggestive manner.

Reports about the four educators were among the documents given by the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation to The Riverdale Press last month. They came in response to a Freedom of Information Law request seeking information on which District 10 educators were investigated for misconduct in 2012.

The office, which operates independently from the schools chancellor and the DOE, received 679 complaints of sexual misconduct during the last calendar year.

The number of complaints accusing staff of inappropriate behavior increased by 21 percent in 2012, compared to the 19 percent increase in complaints the agency received overall.

The Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigations launched 287 investigations into sexual misconduct allegations and substantiated 66 cases, or 20 percent of them.

At DeWitt Clinton, Felicia Barahona, a science teacher, began sleeping with a male student in fall 2011, according to documents from the Office of the Special Commissioner of Investigation. The student told investigators his former teacher asked him not to wear a condom when he requested that they use protection.

The student embraced the idea of being a father when Ms. Barahona told him the baby was due Aug. 15, 2012, according to the office’s documents.

After the birth, Ms. Barahona invited him to move in. He did so on Jan. 2, 2012, according to agency paperwork. On Jan. 26, Ms. Barahona kicked him out after returning from work to find him drunk.

Bronx Science, John F. Kennedy High School, DeWitt Clinton High School, Sarina Trangle
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