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DOE Glossed Over Warning Signs About Teacher Accused of Sex Scandal

By Janet Upadhye | November 20, 2014 5:23pm
 Sean Shaynak, 44, is arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court Tuesday morning after being charged with sexually victimizing six female Brooklyn Technical Students, Sept. 30, 2014.
Sean Shaynak, 44, is arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court Tuesday morning after being charged with sexually victimizing six female Brooklyn Technical Students, Sept. 30, 2014.
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Jesse Ward/New York Daily News

FORT GREENE — The Department of Education glossed over signs of trouble — including assaulting an 11-year-old boy and berating a student in public — while vetting Brooklyn Tech teacher Sean Shaynak and still recommended his hiring, according to a report.

Shaynak was arrested this year on charges of abusing several girls, ages 13 to 19, between 2011 and 2014 following an inital bust in August for sending a lewd photo to a 16-year-old girl — sparking a firestorm at the prestigious school.

Shaynak first interviewed by the DOE in 2008 for the position of a Teaching Fellow at a Manhattan School.

The Special Commissioner of Investigation, which investigates alleged acts of corruption and other criminal activity, recently looked into Shaynak's hiring and found that a background check made during his screening process showed he was arrested in Maryland in 2005 for assault.

Shaynak told the DOE interviewer that he was arrested following an altercation with a "young teen male." But he did not disclose the boy's age — 11-years-old — and the investigator did not ask, according to the report.

Shaynak told the investigator that a teen threw an object at his house and while he was escorting him back to his parents an altercation took place "where he and the teen were injured," the report says.

He was not technically convicted of a crime, which would have raised a flag during a background check and may have barred him from working with the DOE.

Maryland law allowed a guilty plea to not be entered if Shaynak paid the boy's medical bills, court bills, and did community service.

The investigator explained that she approved Shaynak’s paperwork because he had no other arrests and had met the terms of his 2005 arrest, the report noted.

So she approved Shaynak to be hired as a Teaching Fellow at Landmark High School in Manhattan.

A year later Shaynak, who is trained as a pilot, was hired in the Physics and Engineering program at Brooklyn Tech after interviewing with then-assistant principal John Rendell Barclay.

Barclay said Shaynak was a good fit for the position because he was a "Teaching Fellow who was also a licensed pilot and instructor," the report said.

Barclay said he "had no concerns about Shaynak," according to the report.

In 2012, Shaynak was accused of verbal abuse and "employing language that tends to belittle or subject a student to ridicule."

Brooklyn Tech assistant principal David Newman found the accusations to be true and extended his probation.

But Shaynak was able to keep his job — at which point he had already began to sexually victimizing teenage girls at the school, according to charges brought by the Brooklyn DA.

He faces many charges including kidnapping, criminal sex act and others and faces 25 years to life on the top charge, according to the Brooklyn DA's office.

"Mr. Shaynak's alleged behavior was abhorrent, and we will continue to cooperate with all authorities in this case," said DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye. "This investigation shows employees fulfilled their responsibilities, following proper procedure and the law.

"We take protocol seriously and the safety of students, families and school staff is our top priority."

The United Federation of Teachers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.