Probe: DOE Was Not In Error When Hiring Brooklyn Tech Teacher Now Charged With Sex Abuse
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - Investigators say the New York City Department of Education was not in error when it hired a teacher who has since been charged with sex abuse.
Prosecutors say 44-year-old Sean Shaynak preyed on students while teaching at Brooklyn Technical High School.
Shaynak was indicted on 36 charges, including kidnapping, forcible touching, sexual abuse and criminal sexual act.
After Shaynak was arrested in August, questions were raised about a 2005 arrest in Maryland over an altercation with an 11-year-old neighbor.
A report released Thursday by the special commissioner of investigation for New York City schools says the earlier arrest did not disqualify Shaynak from being hired because he was not convicted.
According to the report, Shaynak appeared in court in October 2005 and agreed to "dispose" of the case via Probation Before Judgment. Shaynak reportedly was ordered to pay for the young boy's medical bills, along with court costs, as well as do 16 hours of community service.
"Because the guilty judgment is not entered, a PBJ (Probation Before Judgment) does not count as a conviction of a crime and the defendant does not have a criminal record. For the purpose of a job application, the former defendant can truthfully answer that he has not been convicted of a crime," the report reads.
WEB EXTRA: Read the full report
Prosecutors allege Shaynak asked two girls to have sex with each other, took a 15-year-old student to a nude beach in New Jersey without her parents' consent, sent explicit photos to four students, inappropriately touched and kissed students, and gave alcohol and cigarettes to minors.
Investigators seized three computers and two phones and discovered thousands of text messages, as well as hundreds of photographs and videos, after the East Flatbush man's Aug. 26 arrest, according to prosecutors.
One Brooklyn Tech senior told 1010 WINS' Al Jones in September that Shaynak was a popular teacher at the school.
"Mr. Shaynak was always known as the chill teacher; the cool teacher. Everyone saw him as like, 'Oh, you got in his class? You're lucky,'" the student said.
The student said many students were in denial, not believing the allegations in the new indictment.
"People are going back and forth, saying: 'Is she even a minor? She's 16 years old; can't she make adult decisions?' So it's really a back-and-forth. (It) actually brought upon a great debate amongst the students," the student said.
Shaynak is currently being held at Rikers Island and has a court date Tuesday. His attorney says he denies the charges.
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