January 31, 2016
Contributed Art/Google Street View
Don Bosco Technical Academy in Paterson, New Jersey.
A teacher at Don Bosco Technical Academy in Paterson, N.J. has been suspended amid allegations that he had sexual contact with multiple students during a previous teaching job in New York City.
Jinwoo Song, 36, was fired from Martin Van Buren High School in Queens after investigators spoke with male and female students who said he had inappropriate contact with them, according to the New York Post.
Special schools investigator Richard Condon produced a troubling eight-page report detailing allegations that Song grabbed a male student's crotch and exposed himself, touched a female student's breast and crotch over her clothing, and had oral sex with a special education math teacher all at Martin Van Buren High School.
After he was fired on November 30, Song was able to secure a $62,000-per-year job at Don Bosco by exploiting loopholes in his application that allowed him to conceal his transgressions. During a nine-month investigation, Song was kept on the city payroll and had applied, successfully, to have his New York credentials recognized in New Jersey.
Song has denied the allegations and claims four Martin Van Buren students conspired against him as an act of revenge for reporting their misbehavior at school to their parents. He told a Post reporter who confronted him at Don Bosco last week that he didn't break any laws or cross any lines.
Officials in Paterson say they conducted a criminal background check on Song and he was able to pass it because he was never arrested or charged with a crime. Instead of listing Martin Van Buren High School as a reference, he had officials check in with his previous employer, Bayside High School.
Upon learning of the allegations, an official in charge of security and internal investigations for Paterson schools ordered Song's removal from the classroom. If the allegations are proven correct, the official said his division will take action. In the meantime, the state of New Jersey is investigating the possibility of stripping Song of his teaching license.
