Thursday, August 4, 2005

D.A. BROWN: QUEENS TEACHER CHARGED WITH RAPE OF 16-YEAR-OLD STUDENT;
FACES FOUR YEARS IN PRISON

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown today announced that a Benjamin N. Cardozo High School teacher has been charged with twice raping and sexually abusing a 16-year-old student at his Flushing residence six weeks ago.

District Attorney Brown said, “As a teacher entrusted with the custody, care and education of young students, the defendant is accused of crossing the line separating teachers and students by engaging in a totally unprofessional and criminal manner with a vulnerable 16-year-old female. As a result, the charges filed against him are more than warranted.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Francisco Aguilar, 28, of 152-18 Union Turnpike. Aguilar has been charged with 2 counts of Rape in the Third Degree, 2 counts of Sexual Misconduct, 1 count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and 2 counts of Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree. If convicted, Aguilar faces up to four years in prison and would also have to register as a sex offender.

District Attorney Brown said that, according to the criminal charges, in two separate incidents that occurred on June 20 and June 24, 2005, Aguilar sexually abused and raped the victim at his residence. Aguilar was the student’s Spanish teacher at the Bayside high school.

The incident came to light when the victim told a friend what had happened. The friend then told the girl’s parents who, in turn, notified police.

According to the District Attorney, the defendant was arrested yesterday by Detective Dan Howard, of the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad, and was arraigned last night before Queens Criminal Court Judge William M. Harrington, who set bail in the amount of $10,000 cash and a return date of August 15, 2005.

Assistant District Attorney Leigh Bishop, of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Marjory D. Fisher, Bureau Chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Daniel A. Saunders.

It should be noted that criminal charges are merely accusations and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.