A Brooklyn elementary school teacher was charged Monday with sexually abusing nine of his female students on school property, three months after he was initially charged with abusing five of them, according to Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson.
The science teacher, 36-year-old Omil Carrasquillo, was indicted on 22 counts Monday, including first-degree sexual abuse, and eleven counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Thompson said in a statement. Carrasquillo was accused of groping or fondling four more of his young students inside the Ditmas Park school after he was previously charged with sexually abusing five.
“This defendant is an alleged predator who surrounded himself with vulnerable victims,” Thompson said in a statement. “What should have been a safe haven instead became a parent’s worst nightmare. We will now seek to vindicate the rights of these children.”
Carrasquillo, from Selden, Long Island, allegedly groped or fondled the students, between 8 and 11 years old, on multiple occasions between November 2012 and September 2014 inside P.S. 249 The Caton School, Thompson said.
An investigation into the first slate of accusations was opened when one of the girls complained to the dean of the school and Carasquillo was fired following that. Carrasquillo was removed from the school after the initial allegations came to light, a Department of Education spokeswoman said in September.
“These alleged actions are disturbing,” department spokeswoman Devora Kaye said in an email. “When these allegations emerged, DOE took swift action to immediately remove Mr. Carrasquillo from the classroom. He no longer works for the Department, and he is not eligible to return.”
Carrasquillo was held on $200,000 bail Monday. In September he was initially held on $50,000, Thompson said.
An attorney for Carrasquillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
