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Heather Kennedy
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Arrested Again
Update: July 22, 2008
Ex-teacher charged again in student's rape, authorities
say former Wantagh educator ignored order of protection
Heather Kennedy, the former Wantagh high school teacher who pleaded
guilty last month to having sex with a 16-year-old student, was
arrested again late Monday after she continued having sex with the boy
as she awaited sentencing, prosecutors said Tuesday.
She now faces five new charges of statutory rape, District Attorney
Kathleen Rice's office said.
Acting on a tip, Rice's investigators put the Massapequa woman, 25,
under surveillance and found that she was still seeing the boy, and
the victim later told prosecutors she had sex with him five times
since the guilty plea, the prosecutors said.
Last month, Kennedy pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and was
awaiting an August sentencing. She faced up to a year in jail.
At the time of the plea, an order of protection was issued in favor of
the 16-year-old, authorities said.
At First District Court in Hempstead Tuesday, Kennedy pleaded not
guilty to five counts of felony third-degree rape, two counts of
felony third-degree criminal sexual act, five counts of criminal
contempt and one count of endangering the welfare of a minor. She
faces up to four years in prison on each rape charge, authorities
said.
Prosecutors called Kennedy a flight risk who should remain in custody,
adding that Kennedy is supposed to surrender her teacher's license.
Defense attorney Joseph Carbone Jr. of Farmingdale said she's not
violent and not a flight risk.
District Court Judge Robert Bruno ordered Kennedy held on $104,000
bond, or $52,000 cash bail. She is to return to Mineola court July 24.
Kennedy, a former teacher and track coach, taught math at Wantagh High
School for three years, officials said, and had a good reputation with
students and administrators alike.
But Kennedy was forced from her job teaching 10th- and 11th-graders
after she was arrested. She was charged with endangering the welfare
of a child and with having sex with the 16-year-old in his car after
his father contacted police because the boy told him of the tryst,
police said.
The boy's name was withheld because he is a minor.
In the initial charges against Kennedy, Nassau police said the boy
contacted the teacher via text message the night of March 19. They
agreed to meet and spent at least three hours together before going in
his car to the parking lot of Massapequa High School on Merrick Road
early March 20, where they had intercourse.
When questioned by his father about being out past midnight, the teen
initially said he was with friends, but later said he'd been with a
teacher, police said.
Source:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lirape0723,0,3396182.story
March 27, 2008
A well-liked teacher and track coach at a Wantagh school stands
accused of statutory rape after police say she had sex with a teenage
student.
Heather Kennedy, 25, has taught math at Wantagh High School for three
years, officials said, and had a good reputation with students and
administrators alike.
But Kennedy was forced from her job teaching 10th- and 11th-graders
and into court after she was arrested Wednesday. She was charged with
having sex with a 16-year-old in his car after his father contacted
police because the boy told him of the tryst, police said.
Thursday, Wantagh senior Kayla Jacobson, 18, credited Kennedy with
helping her gain admission to Iona College. Kennedy seemed to have an
easy time relating to students because she was closer to their age,
Jacobson said.
"I guess that's a good and a bad thing, because a lot of people liked
her because of that but then I guess it doesn't make things any
better," she said. "She was the kind of teacher, if you had a problem,
you could talk to her, and she would listen."
Kennedy, who lives in Massapequa, hung her head and did not answer
reporters' questions as she was led from Nassau Police headquarters to
a patrol car, which took her to her arraignment in First District
Court in Hempstead Thursday.
District Court Judge Norman Janowitz set Kennedy's bail at $35,000,
which was later posted by a family member.
The judge also issued a temporary order of protection for the boy,
whose name was withheld because he is a minor. The statutory rape
charge, an E felony -- which carries the shortest jail sentence for
felony cases -- has a maximum penalty of 11/3 to four years in jail.
Nassau police said the boy contacted the teacher via text message the
night of March 19. They agreed to meet and spent at least three hours
together before going in his car to the parking lot of Massapequa High
School on Merrick Road early March 20, where they had intercourse,
according to Det. Lt. Richard Zito of the special victims unit.
When questioned by his father about being out past midnight, the teen
initially said he was with friends but later said he'd been with a
teacher, Zito said.
"We believe it was a one-time incident," Zito said. The pair have
known each other at least since last September.
Wantagh school superintendent Carl Bonuso said Kennedy was put on
indefinite paid leave but declined to comment further. Kennedy's
attorney, Steve Zimmer, also declined to comment after her
arraignment. Kennedy has no prior arrests.
Source: BY ANDREW STRICKLER AND MATTHEW CHAYES | andrew.strickler@newsday.com
matthew.chayes@newsday.com Newsday staff writer Sophia Chang
contributed to this story.
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