A high school teacher in Ridgewood was arrested yesterday after authorities accused her of raping a 16-year-old male student.
Joy Morsi, a 39-year-old gym teacher at Grover Cleveland High School, was allegedly involved in a sexual relationship with the teenager for a year. Authorities told reporters they were alerted to the alleged rape after a female friend of the student's told her parents, who in turn told school officials.
According to authorities, Morsi, who has been a teacher at the school since 1999, had sex with the student inside and outside school, first having sex with him in June 2013. She also allegedly sent explicit texts, pictures and videos to the student. The NYPD says she has been charged with rape in the 3rd degree and a criminal sex act in the 3rd degree.
The Department of Education tells us the longtime teacher, whose husband also reportedly works at the school, has been reassigned. "The Department immediately removed Joy Morsi from the classroom upon learning of the allegations," they said in a statement. "We find these claims disturbing and reprehensible and she will remain reassigned—far from any student and the school—pending a criminal investigation. We will work closely with the school to ensure they are given any needed support."
In 2012, fellow Grover Cleveland High School teacher Dyrel Bartee made headlines when students accused him of giving explicit gynecological exam lessons in class, allegedly pretending to be a patient and telling students, "This is the doctors’ favorite part because they get to put their fingers inside their women patients." He was subsequently barred from teaching.
