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Mark Valentinetti, Bronx teacher, charged with slapping teen

A Bronx teacher was charged with slapping a teen twice inside the school, police said.

The teacher, 58-year-old Mark Valentinetti, is accused of slapping the boy on two different occasions: Sept. 29 and Oct. 6, according to the complaint.

Valentinetti, who started teaching at the school in September, was charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child, third-degree attempted assault, and second-degree harassment for allegedly slapping the 13-year-old kid on two different occasions, according to the criminal complaint.

Valentinetti was arrested inside P.S. 83 on Rhinelander Avenue on Monday afternoon. He was released without bail after his arraignment late Monday.

The school investigated the incidents, but did not suspend Valentinetti, a law enforcement official said.

“If there were any substance to these accusations at all the school would have taken him out of the classroom immediately,” said his attorney, Andrew Stoll. “Everything was investigated by the school and not substantiated. These are just parents who are unhappy with the results of an independent investigation.”

A spokesoman for the Department of Education said he was re-assigned away from students pending the results of the criminal charges.

“This alleged behavior is deeply troubling,” Department of Education spokeswoman Devora Kaye said in a statement. “Mr. Valentinetti has been immediately reassigned away from students.”

The circumstances surrounding the incidents were not immediately clear.

Valentinetti’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18.