An administrator at John Adams High School in Ozone Park was arrested on campus Wednesday for allegedly stroking the inner thigh of a 15-year-old student on Monday and then showing pornographic images of himself to her the following day.
Police from the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park responded to the scene after the student reported the incident to another John Adams High School administrator. Michael Budhu, 52, was then taken into custody.
Budhu, an assistant principal at the school, was arraigned Thursday in Queens Criminal Court on a complaint charging him with third-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child. Budhu pleaded not guilty and Queens Criminal Court Judge Maria ordered him to return to court on July 2.
Budhu worked for the city’s Department of Education for nearly 18 years. His profile has since been removed from the John Adams High School website.
“His alleged behavior is reprehensible, and nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our students,” DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle said. “This employee has been reassigned pending an investigation.”
It was the second time that the NYPD was called to a high school campus in Queens on Wednesday. Police from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village responded to a 911 call of a stabbing Wednesday afternoon at the Queens High School of Teaching Liberal Arts and Sciences in Glen Oaks, where an 18-year-old had been attacked by a group of teens in front of the school after dismissal. He was stabbed once in the back and twice in his left arm, police said.
EMS responded to the crime scene and transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition. There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing.
“The safety and wellbeing of our students is our absolute top priority. Violence has absolutely no place in our schools or their communities,” DOE spokesman David Clarke said. “We will be providing additional emotional support to any student who needs it.”
