A 39-year-old teacher at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood has been charged with raping a student, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Tuesday.
Joy Morsi, a physical education teacher at the high school, allegedly began sleeping with a 16-year-old student in June 2013 and continued to do so until July 2013, according to Brown. City Department of Education officials said Morsi has been removed from Grover Cleveland and will remain away from the school during the investigation.
Morsi’s attorney did not return a request for comment.
“This case is particularly disturbing because the defendant is a teacher and schools should be safe havens for children,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “Instead, this defendant is accused of sexually preying upon one of her students during rendezvous all over the school.”
Morsi was arraigned Tuesday on a criminal complaint charging her with 20 counts of rape, 20 counts of criminal sexual act, and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the charges, Morso engaged in sexual relations with a male student in the high school’s basement and other locations of the school.
Bail was set at $25,000 and the next court date is June 23.
