It's a sad day when a story about a teacher who allegedly sexually molested his young students fails to shock. There are simply too many educators in recent years who have landed on the front pages of newspapers because of the atrocious crimes they've committed against young people who trusted them.
With that said, this latest story about a Brooklyn math and physics teacher from a prestigious school, who faces 36 counts of kidnapping and illegal sex acts against students as young as 13, is easily the most appalling one we've heard yet.
Sean Shayank, 44, reportedly engaged in a four-month sexual relationship with a teen while working at Brooklyn Tech High School -- the same school attended by NYC Mayor de Blasio's son. His victims also say he took one girl to a nude beach, took another to a gay sex club, and sent thousands of sex requests via text messages, as well as nude photos of himself to other students.
Shaynak is reportedly divorced with a 9-year-old daughter and has been employed by the school since 2009. The reports of his alleged sex crimes with students stem back to 2012 and only reportedly ended this summer, when police discovered he allegedly sent a photo of his genitals to a 16-year-old student.
Ugh. So, where do I even begin with the horrendous accusations against this man?
A 15-year-old girl says Shaynak took her to a nude beach in New Jersey, where he provided her with vodka, tequila, and whiskey and then let her pass out at his home (are you also wondering where in the hell her parents thought she was?). He reportedly exchanged -- wait for it -- 10,000 text messages with the same girl, in which he asked her to participate in a threesome with another student.
Slimy, creepy, slimy.
Wish I could say that was the extent of his alleged lewd behavior, but no -- not by a long shot.
Another student claims she scored perfect grades in his class because she agreed to sleep with him, despite turning in tests that were totally blank. Shaynak was reportedly carrying on an actual four-month-long relationship -- or as much of one as you can have when you're old enough to be the girl's father -- with a totally different teen and he allegedly took that girl to an out-of-state gay club, where she watched him perform sex acts with other men.
Wait, not finished yet.
He has been accused of forcing himself on an 18-year-old girl who resisted his sexual advances, sending nude photos to four students, two of whom were under the age of consent, AND terrorizing the "girlfriend" who joined him at the sex club. He took her on a "terror ride" in his car that ended with her hiding out in the bushes and him threatening to tell her parents about their affair.
And, just for good measure, police say they uncovered TONS of porno videos on his computer. Which wouldn't ordinarily be surprising, only these vids reportedly featured humans having sex with goats, dogs, and horses.
Of course.
This teacher could get 25 years in prison for charges that include second-degree kidnapping, first- and third-degree criminal sexual act, and first-degree sexual abuse.
Why would an adult do something like this = the million-dollar question no one seems to be able to answer. Maybe all we can do as parents is be extremely vigilant about monitoring our kids' outings and phone correspondences.
The only good news here is that it sounds like this person will face the consequences he deserves if he is found guilty of these charges.
Shaynak has pleaded not guilty. His bail is set at $1 million.
What do you think would be a fair sentence if this educator is convicted of these crimes?
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