Brooklyn High School Teacher Accused Of Sending Explicit Photo To Teen Student Faces More Charges
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A New York City high school teacher accused last month of sending an explicit photograph to a 16-year-old student is now facing additional charges, including kidnapping.
Prosecutors said investigators found evidence that 44-year-old Sean Shaynak, a math and physics teacher at Brooklyn Technical High School, allegedly victimized six other teenage girls.
Investigators seized three computers and two phones and discovered thousands of text messages, as well as hundreds of photographs and videos, after the East Flatbush man's Aug. 26 arrest, according to prosecutors.
Brooklyn High School Teacher Accused Of Sending Explicit Photo To Teen Student Faces More Charges
An investigation revealed that Shaynak had allegedly victimized six teenage girls, ranging in age from 13 to 19, between 2011 and 2014, prosecutors said.
"It is shocking that a public high school teacher allegedly sexually preyed on vulnerable students. We will now seek to vindicate the rights of those students," stated Kings County District Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson.
Prosecutors allege Shaynak asked two girls to have sex with each other, took a 15-year-old student to a nude beach in New Jersey without her parents' consent, sent explicit photos to four students, inappropriately touched and kissed students, and gave alcohol and cigarettes to minors.
Shaynak was arrested and arraigned on a new 36-count indictment Tuesday.
He is charged with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, criminal sexual act, disseminating indecent material, obscenity, official misconduct, forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse.
Shaynak is also charged with reckless endangerment and menacing for allegedly terrorizing a former student with whom he had a prior relationship, prosecutors said.
He also faces a resisting arrest charge for allegedly getting into an altercation with detectives during his arrest last month, prosecutors said.
Shaynak faces up to 25 years on the top charge. A judge set bail at $750,000 bond or $500,000 cash.
One Brooklyn Tech senior told 1010 WINS' Al Jones that Shaynak was a popular teacher at the school.
"Mr. Shaynak was always known as the chill teacher; the cool teacher. Everyone saw him as like, 'Oh, you got in his class? You're lucky,'" the student said.
The student said many students were in denial, not believing the allegations in the new indictment.
"People are going back and forth, saying: 'Is she even a minor? She's 16 years old; can't she make adult decisions?' So it's really a back-and-forth; actually brought upon a great debate amongst the students," the student said.
Last month, Shaynak was arrested for allegedly using Snapchat to send an explicit photo to a student on June 27. He was charged with disseminating indecent material to a minor, obscenity, endangering the welfare of a minor and harassment.
He faced up to seven years in prison in that case. A judge reset bail in that case at $250,000 bond or $100,000 cash.
Following the first indictment, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the alleged behavior is unacceptable and that Shaynak has been reassigned and will not be in contact with students.
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