William Sperl, a 60-year-old veteran teacher of the BOCES organization in Eastern Suffolk (Long Island, NY), was arrested on suspicion of having sexual relations with a teenage girl on several occasions.
Following an investigation, Sperl was arrested at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES headquarters located on Martha Avenue in Bellport around noon Tuesday.
Sperl is currently professor of audio production on the Riverhead campus of Eastern Suffolk BOCES. It appears that she had a sexual relationship for months with a student in 2020 when she was 16, according to authorities.
The defendant, a resident of Deer Park, pleaded “not guilty” Wednesday on four counts of rape and seven counts of criminal sexual acts, all felonies.
“All of the incidents occurred during his junior term, when he was 16 years old, between the months of June and October 2020,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison.
The Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) is a program of shared educational services provided to school districts by the New York State Legislature.
Harrison says that The events occurred at several locations, including the BOCES campus in Bellport, several beaches in Suffolk County, and at Sperl’s residence. reported News 12.
The BOCES superintendent in Eastern Suffolk said in a statement: “The teacher will be assigned home and all classes will move forward with qualified BOCES instructors to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted start to the school year for all students.”
Sperl’s attorney, John LoTurco, said his client is a “pillar of his community” and has been a deacon at his church for 17 years. “We are going to fully investigate these allegations,” he said.
Sperl’s wife was in the courtroom to support her husband of 30 years. A protective order was ordered for the victimto unidentified
All charges are mere accusations and those charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Sperl must return to court this Friday, September 1. Detectives ask anyone with information about this case to contact the Special Victims Section at 631-852-6361.
In a similar case, last week a 33-year-old married teacher was arrested and charged with sexually abusing a teenage student in queens (NYC). Her husband has defended her.
Jamall Russell, a DOE school employee, was previously arrested and charged with molesting a 15-year-old. Earlier this month a young New York City public school teacher was arrested on suspicion of exchanging sexual text messages with a 16-year-old student.
Days earlier, a mathematics teacher was sued, fired and accused of child abuse charges for allegedly filming an 11-year-old Hispanic student with his cell phone in the bathroom of a prestigious Catholic boys’ school in Manhattan (NYC).
In July, Richard Leaf, a 75-year-old former teacher and well-known Westchester County (NY) high school sportscaster, admitted to having received child pornography. In June, Steven Marksberry, an NYPD officer assigned to the Bronx, was arrested at his home on Long Island for alleged possession of child pornography.
In April, Damon Rallis, former vice president of the Southold Town (Long Island) Democratic Committee and former leader of that town’s Boy Scout troop, pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography. Also that month, a Latino construction worker was charged with consuming child pornography in New Jersey.
He National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) warned since 2020 about an increase in cases of child pornography for the most adults and children time online during the pandemic. If you are a victim or suspect that someone is being mistreated, especially if they are a minor or elderly person:
