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Teacher Arrested For Buying Teen Girl Booze at Met Museum, NYPD Says

By Trevor Kapp | December 9, 2015 11:42am
 Dean Bethea, 54, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly buying a minor alcohol during a trip to the Met.
Dean Bethea, 54, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly buying a minor alcohol during a trip to the Met.
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columbiasecondary.org

UPPER WEST SIDE — A teacher at the elite Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering has been arrested for buying a 16-year-old former student beer during a trip to the Met and then later trying to kiss her, police and prosecutors said Wednesday.

Dean Bethea, 54, was arrested Tuesday afternoon and charged with endangering the welfare of a child after he took a former English student to the famed Fifth Avenue museum last Wednesday and bought her beer, prosecutors said.

Bethea later asked the girl to dinner, and when she refused, walked her through Central Park and told her he admired her. He then tried to kiss her, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said.

When the girl declined, he requested a hug. The student told her parents, who then alerted police, law-enforcement sources said.

Bethea has since been reassigned, the Department of Education said.

"These allegations are troubling," DOE spokeswoman Devora Kaye said. "He will not be in contact with any students pending the resolution of his case,"

He was ordered held on $2,500 bail at his arraignment Wednesday morning.

Bethea's bio on the school’s website says he teaches ninth-grade language arts and philosophy.

He previously worked for 25 years as a tenured college professor, according to the school's website.

His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.