Alexandra Culhane, a 24-year-old teacher’s aide working at New York school for children with special needs, was arrested for allegedly having sex with a 15-year-old student.
Culhane, 24, was taken into custody on Monday, June 13, and charged with felony rape and criminal sex acts. The charges stem from an alleged sexual encounter with the teenage boy about one year ago.
According to Prosecutor John Carson, Culhane, who worked at The School at Northeast in Schenectady, engaged in oral sex and sexual intercourse with the unnamed victim in early April of 2016. The two allegedly had the sexual encounter in Schenectady, New York’s Central Park.
via the Albany Times Union:
Her arrest comes one week after a teacher from the same school was arrested for allegedly assaulting another teenager in the hall, state prosecutors said. Both defendants worked at The School at Northeast, a special education school in Schenectady that serves children from grades 6 to 12.
The school is run by Northern Rivers Family of Services, a child and family services conglomerate with offices 12 eastern New York counties.Northern Rivers is licensed by the state Education Department.
Staff reported Culhane’s alleged behavior to city police in 2016, Carson said. The district attorney’s office, the Schenectady Police Department and the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs investigated the case.
The School at Northeast in Schenectady suspended Culhane during the investigation and then fired her in February.
Culhane also coached the girls’ junior varsity field hockey team at Scotia-Glenville High School in the fall of 2015 and 2016.
