GRAMERCY — Officials at Simon Baruch Middle School did not notify the school’s parents when a student was arrested last week for harassing girls on Snapchat and Facetime, according to several parents who told DNAinfo New York they would have liked to find out from the school, not on the news.
A 14-year-old student was arrested at the East 21st Street school on May 13 after administrators discovered he had been coercing girls into sending him nude photos since October and had intimidated a girl into touching his penis during school hours, according to police.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the school notified parents of all students involved after the incident.
But they didn’t reach out to parents of the wider student body, according to four parents who spoke with DNAinfo on Friday.
“They shouldn’t try to keep it undercover,” said Herminio Aponte, the father of a girl in sixth grade, on Friday. “You think school is supposed to be a safe haven, especially when you have a daughter."
Aponte said he already keeps a close watch over his daughter’s use of technology to prevent her from becoming ensnared in unsavory behavior or bullying. But he added that parents should know about an incident like this recent one, which police said had been going on for at least seven months.
“It’s wrong to keep parents in the dark,” he said.
Another parent, the mother of a boy at the school, said she would have liked to know about the incident in order to talk with her son about staying safe online.
“Parents should be informed so we can prepare and have a talk with our children,” said the parent, who declined to give her name.
The mom, like the other parents who spoke with DNAinfo on Friday, praised the school and its principal, Rocco Masri, but said she hopes the administration will handle matters more transparently in the future.
Since October 1, 2015, the 14-year-old Baruch Middle School student had sent photos of his penis to multiple girls and demanded pictures in return, threatening to "expose" them if they refused, according to a police report.
At least some of the victims were his fellow classmates, according to sources.
He also called several girls on FaceTime and openly masturbated while they were on the other end, police said.
His actions were not limited to digital harassment, according to a report. On at least one occasion he “intimidated” a girl into touching his penis on a park bench during lunchtime, according to a police report.
The boy, whose name police did not release due to his age, was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child, sex abuse, coercion and obscenity, police said.
He is being charged as a juvenile and the case was referred to family court, according to a police spokesman.
The city's Law Department, which handles juvenile cases in family court, said the teen had not been arraigned as of Friday.
A Department of Education spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the decision to not notify parents of the incident.
