A high school teacher in New York has skirted jail time after pleading guilty to performing intimate acts on a 14-year-old boy. After accepting a plea deal last month, it was announced that Dori Myers, 29, will be allowed to keep her teaching license while she serves 10 years of probation.
Since 2014, Myers had been a social studies teacher at The New School of Leadership and The Arts in the Bronx, where she also started the school’s track team. Her attorney, Andrew Stoll, maintains her innocence and points to altruistic acts like the track team to confirm her character. “It just takes one person’s accusation to make an arrest in this town and she’s a model citizen who looks forward to clearing her name,” Stoll told The New York Post.
Bronx teacher who performed oral sex on 14-year-old gets 10 years probation, avoids jail, keeps teaching certificate https://t.co/9kAZKBUtvB pic.twitter.com/442u74mRBV
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) September 13, 2018
The official charges brought against Myers were criminal lewd and lascivious battery in the second degree and endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors originally requested a $50,000 bail, noting that she had “abused her position as a trusted authority figure.” However, Judge Laura Drager ended up releasing Myers on her own recognizance.
Local authorities were initially notified of the incident, which took place on November 1 of last year in Upper Manhattan, by a school administrator, who was clued in to the situation by one of the victim’s classmates. A follow up investigation also found that a teacher at the school once spotted Myers giving a massage to the victim.
Female teacher, 29, sentenced to 10 years probation for sexual… https://t.co/JC1q91NM4m pic.twitter.com/adHxz6H90R
— Bronx Roundup (@BronxRU) September 12, 2018
Despite prosectors’ demands that Myers spend at least 2 years behind bars, Stoll was successful in his argument that she should remain free and able to teach again. “There is a possibility that she could teach adults now or in the future and we want to preserve that possibility. She still is a talented teacher and has those skills, and I don’t see any reason to destroy her ability to make a living and to contribute to society in a positive way.”
However, Myers’ firing by the New York Department of Education means that she won’t be eligible to teach at school in New York City ever again. In addition, her probation sentencing requires her to register as a level one offender with Megan’s Law. As specified by New York’s Sex Offender Registry, Level 1 offenders are deemed “low risk” for repeat offenses, don’t need no classification like “predator,” can be deregistered after 20 years, and are not listed on the public directory.
Unusual & relatively effortless way for him to get his grade raised, no? And is it me or does she look like she wouldn’t have that much of a problem finding some1 her age? https://t.co/SNLGM2sN2w
— Lenny Dykstra (@LennyDykstra) September 13, 2018
Photos that have emerged from Myers social media account seem to paint a picture of her as a bit of a party girl, as several of her t-shirt slogans reflect her love of indulging in adult beverages. Also obtained from victim’s phone during the investigation was a Snapchat video of he and Myers cuddling together, with the accompanying caption, “Me and my sexy *ss wife.”
Myers actual husband, a sheriff’s deputy of Rockland County, where they reside, was not present at her sentencing. What do you think about this situation? Should Myers have received a harsher sentencing? Does the age of consent in the US need to be reexamined? Was gender bias involved? Let us know in the comments down below!
