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Jan 8, 2008 8:55 pm US/Eastern
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'Sex-Related' Crimes In NYC Schools Skyrocketing
Complaints Involving Students And Employees Highest Ever
Reporting
Cindy Hsu
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
There are more complaints about school crime than ever before, everything from sexual misconduct to theft.
So why the spike in complaints and what's the schools investigator doing about it?
The number of complaints of sexual misconduct involving students and school employees last year was the highest ever.
A former social studies teacher at Newtown High School in Queens was busted in a very embarrassing spot.
"He actually was found under the bed of a student by the student's aunt, I believe," said Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon.
"The girl actually admitted to having sexual relationship with him over a period of time."
That's just one of more than 600 "sex related" complaints from 2007. Condon received a record number of complaints last year at more than 2,800. That's a 10-percent increase from the year before and his office was able to substantiate more cases than ever before.
Condon said the crimes are also getting more serious. Of the 308 substantiated cases, he referred 90 of them to prosecutors.
So why the spike?
Condon says budget increases have led to more schools opening and more employees being hired, so there's a much bigger pool of people to deal with. The NYC school budget has gone up $5 billion over the last five years.
"If people don't make complaints who were supposed to make complaints we will charge them with misconduct," Condon said.
Condon also said computers and cell phones have opened up access between students and school employees.
"Ten years ago if a teacher started calling a student at home after the second or third phone call the parents would wonder what was going on, but now kids have their own cell phones, they have their own computers," Condon said.
Condon said parents need to be vigilant about monitoring their kids' phones and computers. He's expecting even more complaints this year.
"The more schools have been opened the more teachers, principals have been employed, the more vendors, the more consultants, so the population we're dealing with has exploded," Condon said.
Students are happy someone is stepping up to see that sex-related crimes are stopped.
"Things would happen and then you have to leave it like that because no one would do anything about it, but now it's different," high school senior David Perez said. "Now you have people who care about it and they do something about it."
Fellow senior Maria Vega agreed, saying, "Well, I feel better, more safe."
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