A Brooklyn high school knew that a 44-year-old teacher accused of sexually preying on students had been arrested on assault charges before he was hired by the school and that he acted inappropriately around students while he worked there, according to a lawsuit filed by one of the teacher's alleged victims.
The suit against the city Department of Education, filed by attorney Jeff Herman on behalf of a student identified as "V.V.," alleges that administrators at Brooklyn Technical High School knew that teacher Sean Shaynak had been arrested on assault and battery charges on a minor before he was hired to teach at the school in 2009 and that he harassed and acted inappropriately while around students during his tenure.
Shaynak was charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment and criminal sex acts in a 36-count grand jury indictment unsealed in September. Prosecutors say Shaynak, who worked at the school from 2009 to 2014, took a 15-year-old to a nude beach in New Jersey without her parents' consent, performed a sex act on an 18-year-old student without her consent and sent photos of his genitals to four students, including two minors.
According to a news release from Herman's office, Shaynak began grooming V.V. in March 2012, sending her sexually charged text messages during and after school. Herman's office says Shaynak took her to the Museum of Sex, where he allegedly gave her alcohol and kissed her on the lips.
The lawsuit alleges that Shaynak took the teen to a hotel on Long Island where he had sex with her. The suit also accuses the former teacher of taking V.V. to nude beaches and sex clubs, where he would force her to watch him perform sex acts with other men. The suit also accuses Shaynak of kidnapping, threatening and terrorizing the teen while he was dressed in drag.
The suit alleges that administrators at the school knew that Shaynak flashed female students while dressed in drag during a school dance and that he smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol with teens off school grounds. The suit also alleges that the school didn't discipline Shaynak when he allowed students to skip class and "hang out" with him in his classroom.
The suit alleges that because the school didn't reprimand Shaynak or restrict his access to students, he was able to harass and assault V.V. and other students at the school.
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Brooklyn Tech Principal Randy Asher told parents after Shaynak's arrest last year that he and other school officials were unaware of the allegations against the 44-year-old until his arrest in August.
