A Soundview math teacher arrested for sexual abuse on Wednesday allegedly grabbed a 13-year-old girl’s buttocks while on school grounds and made a suggestive comment about her turning 18, according to the criminal complaint obtained by the Bronx Times.
Paul Anthony Tyrrell, a 38-year-old middle school teacher at the School for Inquiry and Social Justice, allegedly made numerous inappropriate comments to the girl at school in October, including telling her in Spanish that she has a “big a**” and “when you turn 18 you are mine,” according to NYPD Detective Shaun Bertin’s account in the criminal complaint for the case.
In another instance, Tyrrell allegedly lifted the girl’s hoodie up to expose her stomach, and on Oct. 14, he walked up to her, put his hand on the bottom of her buttocks and grabbed her buttock as she walked into a classroom, according to the complaint.
The School for Inquiry and Social Justice, a public school at 1025 Morrison Ave., teaches grades sixth through eighth.
Tyrrell was arrested at 2:51 p.m. on Wednesday in the 43rd Precinct and he was arraigned Thursday night. He was charged by the Bronx District Attorney’s Office with endangering the welfare of a child, forcible touching and sexual abuse in the second and third degrees, all misdemeanors.
The District Attorney’s Office requested $5,000 cash/$15,000 bond/$15,000 partially secured bond, but Tyrrell was instead released on his own recognizance. His court case was adjourned until Dec. 12.
The 13-year-old has experienced “annoyance, alarm and fear for her physical safety,” as a result of the allegations, according to the complaint.
The city Department of Education (DOE) told the Bronx Times that the teacher has been reassigned and will not have contact with students, but spokespersons for the department did not respond to requests for elaboration.
Tyrrell has worked as a math teacher at the South Bronx school since 2019 and graduated in 2021 with his Masters of Science in mathematics teacher education from Lehman College in the Bronx, according to his LinkedIn profile. He began working for the DOE on Sept. 3, 2019, according to city payroll data.
Bertin, the detective who signed off on the criminal complaint for the case, is part of the Brooklyn special victims squad.
If you or someone you know are a victim of sexual harassment, RAINN, an anti-sexual violence nonprofit, offers confidential 24/7 support through a national hotline at 800-656-4673 or online at online.rainn.org.
Reach Aliya Schneider at aschneider@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-4597. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
