WEST VILLAGE — A 51-year-old paraprofessional was arrested for groping an 18-year-old student at M721 on Clarkson Street multiple times, police said.
Police said the paraprofessional — a Department of Education employee tasked with working with special needs students — was arrested on Tuesday after the 18-year-old female student told other staff at the 16 Clarkson St. school that he had touched her breast, thigh and genitals at school.
“These are disturbing allegations, and this paraprofessional was immediately suspended without pay," said DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye.
The story was first reported by the New York Daily News.
The victim told school staff on Monday that the paraprofessional, Isidro Puente, squeezed her breast once in May, and last week squeezed her thigh under a table and rubbed her genitals over her clothing, police said.
Puente was charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse in the third degree, both misdemeanors.
A judge released him without bail after issuing a temporary order of protection. He is due back in court on Aug. 8. It was not immediately possible to reach his lawyer.
Puente has worked for the DOE since January 1999, and has been at M721, also known as the Manhattan Occupational Training Center, since September 2001, according to DOE information. His salary is $37,168, and he has no prior disciplinary history with the DOE.
He was suspended without pay Monday, the department said.
