DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — The Brooklyn high school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student was released on $10,000 bail after her arraignment Friday, CBSNewYork reported.
Erin Sayar, 35, who teaches at James Madison High School, is accused of having sex more than a half dozen times with 11th-grade student Kevin Eng, whom she tutored. They allegedly had trysts in her SUV in her school office, where she also was alleged to have given the student pot.
Sayar's lawyer, Virginia Lopreto, countered during the arraignment it was Eng who had pushed drugs, the New York Daily News reported.
"The complaining witness was suspended from school well before … for brazenly selling pot on the grounds of the school," she reportedly said.
Sayar, who is married with a child and lives in Park Slope, has been teaching at the school since 2009.
She was found out in December when Eng's girlfriend discovered messages between the two on his Facebook account and alerted school officials.
After an investigation officials found that Sayar and End sent nearly 4,000 text messages to each other in less than a month.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced proposed legislation Tuesday that would make it easier for the city to fire teachers who have had inappropriate sexual relations with students after a string of sexual scandals at city schools.
"This is something where if you really care about our children it is just indefensible to say that these teachers should stay in the system," Bloomberg told reporters at a Gracie Mansion press conference.
Sayar is charged with rape, criminal sex act, sexual misconduct, and sexual abuse no and is reportedly facing up to four years in prison.
