A Bronx elementary schoolteacher told a 10-year-old girl he
was taking her to an awards ceremony, where she was to be honored, then raped her
in his car, the police said on Wednesday.
The teacher, Anthony Criscuolo, 40, who taught fifth grade
to special education students at Public School 386, was charged with
first-degree rape and predatory assault of a child, the police said.
He had no prior criminal history, according to police
records.
Police officials said the investigation of Mr. Criscuolo
began on Tuesday after the girl’s mother contacted them.
The police said that Mr. Criscuolo had written a letter
informing the girl that she was to receive an award and offered to take her to
the awards ceremony when, in fact, there was no award or ceremony.
Instead, the police said, Mr. Criscuolo raped the girl in
his car on Monday.
Efforts to reach Mr. Criscuolo on Wednesday were
unsuccessful.
Connie Pankratz, a spokeswoman for the Education Department,
said that there had been no previous department investigations of Mr.
Criscuolo.
She said that he had been reassigned away from the school
and students, and that the department planned to seek his firing and to remove
him from the payroll during the investigation.
Mr. Criscuolo, a Bronx resident, had taught at P.S. 386
since September 2011 and his annual salary was $72,990, according to Department
of Education employment records. P.S. 386, also known as the School for
Environmental Citizenship, has 490 students in prekindergarten through fifth
grade.
Mr. Criscuolo previously worked at P.S. 498 in the Bronx for
a year.
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