FORT GREENE — Brooklyn Tech principal Randy Asher told parents that he was unaware of misconduct of any kind by science teacher Sean Shaynak before his initial arrest in late August for sexually preying on several female students.
During a meeting at the Fort Greene high school Thursday night, Asher also asked parents to talk to their children to find out if there were more victims.
Asher's request came as the head of the school's PTA charged that Shaynak allegedly preyed on victims who experienced tragedies in their lives such as a death in their family.
Shaynak was arrested again Tuesday morning for victimizing six more teenage girls — including taking a 15-year-old student to a nude beach — over the course of five years.
Shaynak plied students with alcohol and cigarettes and engaged in “consensual sex acts” with two of the students, according to a statement from the Brooklyn District Attorney.
He also allegedly exchanged thousands of text messages with them.
But Asher said he saw no red flags.
"We found out about that incident when the arrest took place [in August] and when it hit the press," he said. "Before that there was never any allegation of misconduct of any kind and nothing about this case ever came forward."
Asher stood before a crowd of more than 200 parents at a PTA meeting Thursday night and asked them to help identify any new students who may have been Shaynak's victims.
Any new information should be reported to school officials or the Brooklyn District Attorney's office, he added.
"It is really important that as parents you work with us as our partners to help encourage students to come forward whether they themselves are involved or know something about someone else that is," he said. "We need your help."
Although news of Shaynak's arrest came as a surprise to the school administration, many students said they saw it coming.
Some said he was widely known for handing out cigarettes to students, hanging out with them after school hours and being overly friendly.
"Everyone knew that he was down with the students and gave out cigarettes and you would see him hanging out with kids on the corner," said senior Alessia Gonzales, 17. "I was not surprised to hear what happened."
Another student, who declined to give her name, took a class with Shaynak and said she remembered him sometimes explaining things in a "sexual way."
"He would sometimes use sexual innuendos when explaining scientific terms," she said. "I remember that about him."
PTA Co-President Illene Jaroslaw said she learned after Shaynak's arrest that he used small acts of kindness to get students to trust him.
"He's been grooming the victims over a period of time, being friends with them on Facebook, doing favors and taking them out to dinner," she said.
She added that he went further with students that had experienced some sort of tragedy.
"From what we understand he looked for teenagers that had some kind of vulnerability that he could exploit that might be a recent death in the family, a divorce or some other instability going on at home."
