A Queens high school teacher has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing two female students.
Shannon Hall, 31, was charged with forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and other crimes involving students at Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences High School, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Saturday.
'I Want to Be With You'
Hall allegedly grabbed a 14-year-old female student's breast and sent suggestive texts to a 16-year-old student on May 25. He's accused of groping the younger student inside his classroom.
In text messages sent to the 16-year-old student, Hall allegedly told her "I want to be with you." The next day he apologized in another text message saying he was drunk, Katz said.
At the Queens high school, Hall is accused of telling the older student he was jealous of her and a male student, and later that day sent additional texts saying he wanted to kiss her, smoke and have sex with her. He followed up those messages telling the 16-year-old she would be dead if she showed the texts to anyone, the district attorney said.
Hall Faces a Year in Jail
"This alleged behavior is completely unacceptable and will be fully investigated. This employee has been reassigned away from the school and students pending the outcome of the arrest and if convicted, we will pursue his termination," a Department of Education statement said.
Hall was arraigned on Friday. If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail. Attorney information for the 31-year-old was not immediately known.
Last month, a Bronx elementary school teacher was charged with sexually abusing and forcibly touching a 10-year-old schoolgirl. Norman Dunkley, 48, was arrested for allegedly touching the student's breasts and showing her a photo of a naked woman, as reported by Bronx Times. The veteran science teacher was also fired in the wake of the allegations.
