Mineola Teacher Removed Over Sexual Assault Allegations: Report

MINEOLA, NY — A Mineola Middle School teacher accused of sexually assaulting students has been removed from the classroom pending an investigation, according to a report by News 12 Long Island.

The removal comes after a woman filed an online petition claiming the teacher had a bed of nails and asked students to sit on parts of his body, including his stomach, legs, waist, and his face, to try to pin him down, and offered them food if they succeeded. The petition claims the practice went on for many years and both female and male students have suffered trauma from the events.

The petition goes on to claim that similar allegations have been brought to the attention of the school district but no action has been taken by the administration.

The petition has collected nearly 5,000 signatures calling for the teacher’s removal, including other alleged victims who described their experiences in the comment sections.

A district spokeswoman said school officials do not have a record of a student with the same name of the woman who wrote the petition, nor is there a record of a family with the same name. It was not immediately clear if the district had a record of the other signers of the petition.

In an update to parents on Wednesday, the district’s superintendent, Michael Nagler said that school officials were aware of the allegations, but could not offer any more details of the situation due to privacy constraints.

The teacher has been removed and a “full investigation is being conducted,” he said.

“We want to assure you that the health and safety of our students is always our top priority. The district does not tolerate misconduct and takes all allegations of such very seriously,” he said.