Teacher at troubled youths center charged with rape

Will David | The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

YONKERS, N.Y. -- A female teacher at a residential center for troubled youths in Yonkers, N.Y., was arrested Wednesday after allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student, authorities said Thursday.

The 34-year-old Leake & Watts teacher, Meaghan White, is charged with rape. She is accused of having sex with the boy at Willson's Woods Park, a Westchester County park in Mount Vernon, N.Y., said Kieran O'Leary, a county police spokesman.

Other alleged sexual encounters between the student and teacher in different locations also are under investigation in Yonkers and New Rochelle, N.Y., authorities said.

White appeared briefly in Mount Vernon City Court on Thursday afternoon, but she did not enter a plea to the charge. She was released without bail. Jeffrey Scaggs, a lawyer for White, did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did White.

White is charged with third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act, both felonies.

According to its website, Leake & Watts is a "not-for-profit agency committed to addressing a myriad of challenges that confront individuals and families dealing with poverty, disabilities, and a lack of access to education and basic services."

Leake & Watts spokeswoman Meredith Barber said the incident came to the school's attention Wednesday and the school immediately reported it to the police. The teacher was suspended without pay. She has been with Leake & Watts for three months.

"We are deeply disturbed by these allegations," said Barber. "The reported actions of this new staff member are wholly inconsistent with our agency's core values which are focused on the safety, well-being, and success of the people we support."

Barber did not say how the incident came to the school's attention.

The teacher was given a "rigorous" background check before she was hired and there was no evidence in the teacher's background of any incident like the allegations at Leake & Watts, Barber said.

"We are very disturbed," Barber said.

The probe of White is being conducted by several agencies including Westchester County, Yonkers and New Rochelle police departments and the Westchester County District Attorney's office.

White is next due back in Mount Vernon City Court on Jan. 14.