School Dragged Its Feet Reporting Peeping Tom Outside Queens School; Parents Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A peeping tom has been lurking outside of an elementary school in Queens.
A teacher said she saw someone looking at her and taking pictures through a bathroom window.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, parents were stunned to hear what happened.
Behind gated windows, and wrought iron fencing at William Sidney Mount School, works an art teacher who police said was utterly violated.
It happened last Friday, around 1:30 p.m.
The 45-year-old woman was using a restroom in the nurses office on the basement level when she spotted a strange man peering down through a window -- his cameraphone pointed directly at her.
"This is not good, this is a very safe neighborhood," one parent said.
"They said, 'good education, good teacher,' but I never heard something could happen like that," Glora Takhalova said.
The teacher told police she did not recognize the man who was standing on school grounds.
"Last time I saw the teacher she was a little out of herself. She wasn't that nice, that happy," Nancy Pakanaveva said.
The fourth grade student told CBS2 nobody at school talked to them about what happened, and some parents complained they haven't heard from the school either.
"I'm more concerned this is the first I'm hearing it from you, honestly I haven't heard anything from school, nothing," one parent said.
The elementary school did in fact send a latter to parents on Wednesday promising additional facility measures to ensure, 'premises are safe' and 'public views of the area are obstructed.'
"What can any school do, are they gonna hire security guards to school? That's too expensive and the city's not gonna pay for that, I don't know what the solution could be," Kathleen Melendez said.
Now, parents are grappling with how to talk to their young kids about the mature subject.
"I don't want her to worry about it, and she's way too young to even understand or know," Melendez said.
CBS2 reached out to the Department of Education, who said the office is working with the school to address parents' concerns.
A parents association meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, where those concerns are sure to be discussed.
