A high school teacher from Staten Island has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two female students and multiple women in a series of disturbing incidents dating back to late last year, as reported by the NYPD. Jose Joaquin Diaz Barahona, 37, is accused of inappropriately touching two minors at Susan Wagner High School and three women outside of his workplace, according to a criminal complaint.
Barahona, who worked as a teacher at Susan Wagner High School, is facing charges for a string of groping incidents, including one involving an underage student on Jan. 16. The teacher allegedly touched a high school girl’s buttocks on Nov. 15 for his own sexual gratification.
In addition to the school assaults, Barahona is accused of assaulting women at a church and a post office. The complaint states that he groped and fondled a woman at La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias on Nov. 10. Another woman reported an incident at a post office on Christmas Eve, where Barahona allegedly forcibly touched her breast and crotch.
The teacher was apprehended at his residence in Westerleigh on Mar. 6 and faces charges including forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, sex abuse in the third degree, and harassment in the second degree. Barahona has been released on supervised release and is scheduled to appear in court on Apr. 17.
The NYPD is urging any other potential victims of the alleged assaults to come forward and report their experiences to the authorities. Susan Wagner High School has not issued a comment regarding the situation.
