By Zach Patberg
William Piccione, 59, drove the boy, whom he taught at IS 318 in the Bronx, to his home at 110 Puritan Ave. on three separate occasions and allegedly molested him in his bed, the Queens District Attorney said.He was arrested after a passerby saw him last Thursday acting oddly with a young boy on a bench in MacDonald Park and reported it to a nearby police officer, authorities said. The boy, according to police, later said Piccione had fondled him.Piccione was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, he faces up to a year in prison and would have to register as a sex offender.”The defendant is accused of taking advantage of his position as the boy's teacher so that he could sexually exploit the child for his own deviant gratification and, in the process, destroying the child's innocence and endangering his moral welfare,” Brown said.The DA added that prior to the three incidents, which happened between Jan. 24 and Feb. 1, Piccione also served the young teen vodka one time in December at his home.Reached at his house, Piccione said “I have no comment” and shut the door.Some neighbors described him as withdrawn and unfriendly – never one to participate in the several community events put together by the close-knit private neighborhood.”He never really talked to anyone,” said one young girl who lived next door. “You wave to him and he never waved back.”A teenage neighbor said she had seen Piccione on several occassions barbecuing and spending “an unusual amount of time” with young and pre-teens in his yard and house. Asked if she the charges against Piccione were a shock to her, the neighbor said, “I'm not really surprised, just amazed how people couldn't see it until now.”Reach reporter Zach Patberg at news@timesledger.com or at 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
