New York Cop Outs His Former Teacher and Priest as Sexual Predator

Ex-NYPD officer to out Nazareth Regional High School teacher in sex abuse

BY MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, December 3rd 2008, 1:58 AM

John Aretakis, a Manhattan attorney who has aggressively pursued clergy abuse cases on behalf of scores of clients, said the former cop will identify himself and discuss his allegations during a news conference in front of the Brooklyn Catholic high school Thursday.

The ex-cop decided to take a stand after recently attending his 20th high school reunion, where he learned the coach still worked at the East Flatbush school, Aretakis said. His client wants the coach fired from the school to protect current students from similar abuse.

"The teacher is a present danger to children and students," Aretakis said.

Aretakis declined to identify the coach but said his client will name him at the news conference.

Aretakis said the coach took his client and another boy to his summer home on the Jersey Shore in the mid-1980s, where he performed sexual acts on both of them. Last month, the former cop returned to the New Jersey town where the abuse allegedly took place and filed a complaint with local law enforcement officials. Aretakis said the report will be made available at the news conference.

Nazareth Principal Barbara Gil did not respond to requests for comment. The Xaverian Brothers, the Catholic order that runs Nazareth, did not return calls. Gil met with other school officials Tuesday evening to discuss how to respond to the allegations.

The former cop will be accompanied at the news conference by a retired NYPD detective and a Catholic priest, both victims of sexual abuse.

The Nazareth teacher is the second Catholic high school coach accused of sexual abuse in recent months. A family friend accused longtime Christ the King basketball coach Bob Oliva of abuse this year. Oliva has not been charged with a crime.