NYC substitute teacher charged with raping teen years before landing schools job
A New York City substitute teacher has been charged with raping a teen years before he started working in schools, officials said Thursday.
Sergio Garcia, 26, was arrested Wednesday for the alleged rapes, which took place in 2017, cops said.
He is accused of repeatedly having sex with a 14-year-old girl in 2017, sources said. At the start of one of these encounters, he allegedly gave the teen a gummy that made her feel lightheaded.
His victim just recently came forward with the allegations, cops said.
Garcia was hired by the city as a substitute teacher last September, when New York City schools reopened for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, according to the Education Department.
“These are extremely disturbing allegations of conduct from several years prior to this substitute’s employment, and we took immediate action as soon as they were reported,” said Education Department spokeswoman Katie O’Hanlon. “He is not eligible to work in our schools pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.”
Cops arrested Garcia in Brooklyn and charged him with two counts of rape, sexual misconduct, acting in a manner injurious to a child and sexual abuse.
His arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court was pending Thursday.
