A mother from Marlboro says her 13-year-old daughter was molested by a teacher in a school hallway on March 13, and school officials didn’t do enough to prevent the incident or address it once it happened.
“She groped, she fondled, she massaged my daughter in ways that I as a mother would never touch my own daughter,” the mom tells Kane In Your Corner. To protect the girl’s privacy, News 12 agreed not to mention the child or the mother's name.
“The most disturbing part about this whole event is that after my daughter was molested, and abused in a hallway, no one ever thought to go get my little girl,” the mother says. “Guess where she was? She was back in my classroom dealing with more torment from this person.”
“The school the next day acted like nothing happened,” says attorney Nima Ameri, who is representing the family. “The victim was back in that classroom.”
In a letter to parents districtwide, Marlboro Schools Superintendent Michael Ballone says, “The staff member in question was immediately removed from her position,” adding, “We have no indication that similar incidents have occurred elsewhere within the district.”
But Ameri alleges the teacher had a history of inappropriate behavior. “She had inappropriate conversations about students, with the students present in front of other teachers,” he says.
The mom is also upset about a letter from the school district’s attorney, Marc Zitomer, stating that the district had no idea that the teacher posed a potential threat, and that “if anybody should have been aware of this teacher’s proclivities it was Jane Does’ parents who saw fit to have her tutor their child in their home for a year or more.”
“The letter is disgusting,” the mother says. “To say it's my fault, it's my husband's fault that this happened, it's appalling, it's disgusting, on so many levels.”
At a school board meeting Tuesday night, Zitomer responded.
“I wanted to apologize to the extent that you felt I was blaming you because certainly that was in no way shape or form my intent,” he said.
Marlboro police confirm they are investigating the alleged incident. As of now, the teacher has not been arrested or charged. As a result, News 12 is not reporting the teacher’s name.