FORT GREENE — A former English teacher at one of Brooklyn’s top high schools asked one of his students for workout photos, tried to exercise with her and invited her to a concert, according to a city investigation of more than 100 messages exchanged between the pair.
The city’s Special Commission of Investigation found David Lo sent multiple “inappropriate messages” to the female student, whose name and age were redacted from the 2016 investigation report obtained by DNAinfo.
The investigation was first reported by the New York Post.
Investigators found that over the course of several weeks in the summer of 2015, Lo asked the girl — who he described as his “favorite pen pal” — if she would exercise with him, asked about her running schedule and requested “recent workout pics,” the report said.
The student declined to send pictures of herself to him and also turned down his invitation to attend a Flo Rida concert on Staten Island, the investigation said. Investigators were alerted to the inappropriate behavior from a tip to their office after the student expressed concern about how frequently Lo contacted her, the report said.
Lo worked at the school from 2005 through September 2015 when he was reassigned, according to the Department of Education. He resigned in July 2016, the agency said. His most recent salary at the school was $85,793.
“This behavior is unacceptable and has no place in our schools," said DOE spokesman Michael Aciman. "Mr. Lo resigned from the DOE and is no longer eligible for future employment in New York City public schools.”
Lo was legally represented by the United Federation of Teachers, a spokesman for the group said. The union does not comment on individual cases, he added.
Lo is not the only teacher accused of misconduct with students at the prestigious high school in Fort Greene. In February, music teacher Marisa Cazanave resigned after SCI investigated sexual text messages between her and a male student, the Post reported.
Last year, an aide at the school was fired after he was caught sending a video of himself masturbating in the school to a student. And in 2014, a Brooklyn Tech science teacher was arrested for years of sexual abuse of students.
