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A Long Island teacher has been arrested after being accused of raping one of his underage teenage students in 2020, according to police. William Sperl was arrested around noon Tuesday at the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Bellport campus; He has worked as an audio production teacher on the school’s Riverhead campus for 17 years. Sperl was charged with four counts of third-degree rape and seven counts of third-degree criminal sex acts, all felonies. He pleaded not guilty.
NEW YORK — A Long Island teacher has been arrested after being accused of raping one of his underage teenage students in 2020, according to police.
William Sperl was arrested around noon Tuesday at the Bellport campus of Eastern Suffolk BOCES, the school where he worked, Suffolk County Police said. Sperl works as an audio production teacher at the school’s Riverhead campus, which he will resume classes in just one week.
Sperl, 60, who lives in Deer Park and has worked at the school for 17 years, had a sexual relationship with the student who was 16 at the time, according to police. Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison said the teacher first met the student when she was 15, when she was in one of her classes.
Harrison said the incidents occurred at various locations, including on a school bus, on county beaches and at Sperl’s home when his family was not home.
Sperl was charged with four counts of third-degree rape and seven counts of third-degree criminal sexual acts, all felonies. He pleaded not guilty.
At his arraignment Wednesday, the judge set Sperl’s bail at $400,000. His attorney said his client is a lifelong Long Islander who has been married for more than 30 years, with four grown children and now grandchildren.
His wife did not say much to reporters after her husband’s court appearance, only saying that she loves her husband very much.
In a statement, East Suffolk BOCES said it was cooperating fully with the police investigation, adding that Sperl would be assigned home as classes progress with other instructors.
“The safety of our students, faculty, staff, and community is Eastern Suffolk BOCES’ top priority. Eastern Suffolk BOCES will provide its community with an update as more details become available to share,” the school’s statement concluded.
An investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information about the case, or if there are other victims, is asked to contact the Suffolk County Special Victims Section at 631-852-6361.
2023-08-31 02:38:26
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