A New York city teacher is under investigation over accusations that she had a long sexual relationship with a mentally ill 16-year-old student at a school for children with special needs.
Sandy Casarez-Pinez, 33, a former biology teacher in NYC public schools who is married with three children, had sex with the teen in her car at least a dozen times, and sent him nude and erotic poses among scores of inappropriate texts, according to allegations by the boy's mom and documents obtained by The New York Post.
Casarez-Pinez Became Upset When Student Ignored Her During School Vacation
Police and district attorney investigators found text messages exchanged at all hours between the teacher and the teen, who attended the Biondi School in Yonkers, New York. The school is run by the non-profit Rising Ground, which terminated the teacher this month.
"I know for me it isn't going to be easy, I will miss your kisses, hugs, and everything," she wrote this year in a discussion of whether they should "end it," according to the texts under review by law enforcement agencies.
Casarez-Pinez once allegedly chastised the boy for ignoring her during a school vacation. "Throughout the whole vacation you have shut me out and the only time you would hit me up was when you wanted to masturbate or tell me that you are crushing on other teachers . . . " the married biology teacher allegedly wrote in January.
"I am not a piece of a*s with no feelings you hurt me and you continue to do it. I CARE FOR YOU!! I do not understand how you can doubt that," the text continued.
'Miss Your Touch...Miss Seeing You Masturbate'
Other texts recovered by investigators reveal the extent of their relationship.
"I do miss your touch and kisses not going to lie. I also miss seeing you masturbate, I sound like a pervert," Casarez-Pinez wrote.
In another text message, the teacher also wrote, "I usually go for much older men. Yea you're the crazy exception."
She also said at one point that it "sucks our classroom camera works."
"Eat me? Have you done that before?' she asked. "You made yourself seem like you were a complete prude but you have your fair share of experience and experimenting. I can even say you beat me lol."
Student Told To Lie to Cover Her Tracks
Casarez-Pinez also asked the student to lie to cover her tracks, the texts indicate. When an assistant principal cited a "boundary violation" after spotting Casarez-Pinez eating Chinese takeout with the boy in a science lab, she told him, "I got in trouble."
She said she told her boss that she'd bought lunch for three boys, and agreed to meet with one student because he "was upset about something."
"If you can just back me up with this, if they ask," she told him. Other evidence includes a recorded phone conversation, obtained by The Post, in which the boy asked Casarez-Pinez why she was "pulled out" of the school.
"Did they see us having sex, or did they see me getting in the car? They didn't see us having sex, so what's the issue? ... We hid from the cameras, though, right?"
She replied, "They're saying we were too close ... that it was pretty much like us being in a relationship. And that's, like, against everything. One, because you're underage, and two, because I'm your teacher."
Carazas-Pinez Denies Allegations, Claims Student Took Nudes from Her Phone Because he Had the Passcode
Casarez-Pinez denied having sex with the student: "I didn't even know there were these allegations," she told The Post, adding that investigators have not contacted her. "He would tell me he loved me and I would just reciprocate."
When asked about being seen together in her car, the educator claims the teen got in her car because "he asked me for a ride and it was snowing that day." About the nude photos texted to the boy, she said, "He had the passcode to my phone."
On an earlier call with The Post, Casarez-Pinez's husband angrily confronted her after asking a reporter about the allegations. "You told me you quit, Sandy," he said. "You're done, Sandy, if this is true... You're f–king done, pack your stuff and leave."
Victim's Mother Says Her Mentally Ill Son was 'Raped'
The boy's mother is enraged that Sandy Carazas-Pinez hasn't been arrested. She said camera footage in the classroom shows the teacher sitting inappropriately close to the student. She said her son told investigators the two "fondled" each other sexually in class.
The teen suffers from a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorder, his mother said. "We are upset, shocked, and appalled by the behavior of a former teacher who betrayed the values of the school by engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a student," Rising Ground said in a statement.
The boy's mother — whose name The Post is withholding to protect her son's privacy — is livid that authorities have not arrested the teacher more than two weeks after the teen gave a lengthy interview on March 7 to NYPD special-victim detectives in Staten Island, where the family lives.
"It's the rape of a child with a mental illness," she said. "As a society, we have to prioritize the safety of children who are mentally ill and boys who are sexually assaulted."
