May 6, 2009 6:58 pm US/Eastern
How To Spot Warning Signs Of Teacher Sex Abuse
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
School is meant to be a safe haven for children to learn, but more and more cases of teacher misconduct are coming to light.
On Saturday, Francisco Lindo, a math teacher at Emerson High in Union City, New Jersey, was arrested for sexual assaulting of a 16-year-old student.
Tyrone Brown, the director of the Brooklyn Music and Arts program and the "Brooklyn Steppers" was investigated for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student.
Last year, elementary school teacher's aide Maria Commins was found in a Riverhead hotel room with an 8th grade boy.
Dick Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for New York City schools said predators are taking advantage of communication technology and the lack of parental control over it.
"It's really gotten easier to establish a relationship with a student," he said. "They have their own cell phone everyone has communication through the internet they can receive emails, you have MySpace, you have Facebook."
Many children don't tell their parents if they are being abused or being taken advantage of, but there are warning signs they can look out for.
"One of the first signs of course is the teacher is spending a lot of time with that student, in school, but especially outside of the school area," said clinical psychologist Jeffrey Gardere, Ph.D.
Parents should also wonder why a teacher calls looking for their child.
"Another sign is if your child becomes very secretive about the relationship that they are having with that teacher," said Gardere.
In 2008, special investigations substantiated 30 cases of inappropriate relationships with students and four of them involved sexual contact.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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