Teacher sexually assaulted students, Connecticut cops say. One kept count in notebook
A former special education teacher at an elementary school in Connecticut was arrested following allegations that he sexually assaulted students, according to local media reports.
Erving Rivera, 50, is accused of inappropriate touching, including kissing students on the lips and placing his hands underneath their clothes, while working at Lincoln Elementary School in New Britain, according to the Hartford Courant.
An attorney for Rivera could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.
The allegations surfaced in February after another teacher saw Rivera whisper to a student, according to the Hartford Courant. When the teacher asked the student about the interaction, she said Rivera had told her, “What happens in my room stays in my room.”
During an investigation, four additional female students reported to police that Rivera had engaged in similar behavior with them, “sometimes kissing them, feeling their bra straps, hugging them or calling them ‘baby’ or ‘baby girl,’” according to the New Haven Register, citing an arrest warrant.
Police also obtained one student’s notebook that reportedly was used to keep track of the instances of sexual abuse, according to the Hartford Courant. Body parts were listed with numbers as high as 15 next to each of them, the news outlet reported.
“Why does this happen to me? I’m only 10 years old,” a victim reportedly told a school staff member, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WFSB.
Rivera was put on administrative leave and he resigned in March, according to Fox61.
“From day one, there has been a full collaboration from our staff and administrators in working with law enforcement and DCF that has led to where we are today and that is the arrest of Mr. Rivera,” the New Britain school district superintendent said in a statement, according to Fox61.
“We truly appreciate the due diligence of the agencies involved in conducting a thorough and complete process that ultimately led to Rivera’s arrest,” the superintendent said, per the outlet. “Now it will be up to the legal process to determine how this individual will be held accountable for his actions.”
Rivera has been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault and illegal sexual contact, according to WFSB.
Representatives for the school district of New Britain and the New Britain Police Department did not immediately respond to McClatchy News requests for comment.
Teen was sexually assaulted in Alaska 28 years ago, officials say. DNA leads to arrest
Baby brain dead after being left in tub while dad played video games, Arizona cops say
Hair found in Spanish cave shows people used psychedelics 3,000 years ago, study says
