F. Hills Man Cuffed For Teenage Tryst
Detectives slapped the cuffs on a teacher from Forest Hills on Monday night, Apr. 8, accused of being in an eight-month sexual relationship with a teenage girl whom he previously taught, law enforcement sources said.
Daniel Reilly, 35, of Yellowstone Boulevard-a sixth-grade English teacher at I.S. 237, located at 46-21 Colden St. in Flushing-was taken into custody Monday by members of the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad.
Authorities said Reilly was charged after an investigation was launched earlier on Monday, when the victim’s parents reported the alleged tryst to school officials.
“This case is particularly disturbing. Schools should be safe havens for children. Instead, [Reilly] is accused of sexually preying upon one of his former students and rendezvousing with her at his resi- dence,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement on Tuesday, Apr. 9.
Law enforcement sources said that Reilly, who is married, allegedly sent a text message last August to the then-14-year-old girl which expressed his desire to have sexual relations with her.
From that point forward, prosecutors charged, Reilly and the girl met at his Forest Hills home on 10 different occasions for sexual activity.
The relationship was reportedly uncovered in recent days after the victim’s sister spotted illicit text messages on the victim’s phone. After learning of the messages, prosecutors said, the parents visited I.S. 237 on Monday and notified school officials, who then contacted the Special Commissioner of Investigation.
The case was then referred to the NYPD Queens Special Victims Squad, and detectives charged Reilly on Monday following questioning.
Reilly was arraigned on Tuesday morning in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Gia Morris on four counts of second-degree rape, two counts of second-degree criminal sexual act, six counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
He was released on $30,000 bail and ordered by Judge Morris to return to court on May 6. If convicted, Reilly faces up to seven years behind bars, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lauren R. Parson of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau, which is supervised by Assistant District Attorneys Marjory D. Fisher, bureau chief, and Kenneth M. Appelbaum and Lucinda C. Suarez, deputy bureau chiefs.
It was reported that the Department of Education reassigned Reilly following his arrests from teaching to administrative duties.
