What EC Learned When She Reported a Student Being Sexually Harassed at St. Francis Prep in 2010

In 2010, a female student in my Accounting class came to me and told me something very disturbing. She said a male teacher was constantly hugging her, and it made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She said he had been doing this for a while, and that she hadn't said anything because she was hoping it would stop. She said she never reciprocated, she just sort of tolerated it because she didn't know what to do. Apparently it had gotten out of hand though, and she couldn't stand it anymore and was dreading going to his class. So, she asked me to do something.

I went to Assistant Principal Carolyn Szostek's office and told her the story, and she promised she would do something about it. She empathized with the girl right away, because she said there used to be a male teacher there that would do that to her when she was a young teacher, and it was disgusting. She said it got to a point that she finally told him to never touch her again. The following day, Robyn Armon, the head of the Guidance Department, stopped me in the hallway and told me it had all been taken care of, that the male teacher had been warned to stop hugging this girl.

That same day, the male teacher who was the "hugger" told me about the situation, not knowing I was the one who had reported it. He was very upset. His exact words to me were, "Why is it a problem every time I get close to a girl? Other teachers do it and no one stops them." Then he told me that he was targeted years ago, during the "witch hunt" the administration conducted after Tom Nuzzi was fired for stealing money and "dating" female students. He said he had been reported for inappropriate behavior on multiple occasions over the years, including incidents of staring at girls' breasts.

So I guess my question is, why is he STILL working there? No teacher should be getting "close to" any student. Teachers are not there to "get close" to them. Teachers should be teaching students what they have to teach, grading students' papers, AND NOT TOUCHING THEM.  I do not understand the mental mystery among SFP teachers regarding NOT TOUCHING THE KIDS.

The reason I am writing this blog today is because the girl who came to me in 2010 texted me recently that she is considering suing the school for sexual harassment. I told her that was a very serious decision to make, and she should think it over carefully. She would need to be prepared to be repeatedly called liar, just like Felicia Mooradian. She would also need to be prepared, in all probability, to have her allegations "denied" by people who know it happened, just like in Felicia's case.

So I guess we shall see as to whether or not she files a lawsuit in the near future. It's her decision to make, not anyone else's. God will tell her what she should do.

In any event, I must go now. Time to make the donuts! ;)

Please Help Us Find Br. Michael Moran, Former Principal of St. Francis Prep, and a Pedophile

Three people have contacted us so far about Br. Michael Moran, the principal who was arrested for child molestation in 1980 and taken out of St. Francis Prep in handcuffs.

The first person who contacted us is an alumna, and was a neighbor and friend of the boy who pressed charges. She recounted for us what he said Br. Michael did with him in his office.

The second was someone who had tracked Br. Michael for 20 years since he left St. Francis Prep. This person shared information about what supposedly had happened when Br. Michael left Hofstra in 1983 and his alleged crimes while running a soup kitchen on Long Island after that. He lost track of Br. Michael about 12 years ago and asked if we could try and find him. It wasn't asking really, it was a plea for help. This person is extremely concerned that Br. Michael is still molesting little boys somewhere.

The third person graduated from St. Francis Prep in 1980 and contacted us this past week. She sent us this:

I saw in one of your blogs, a request for information about the former principal of St. Francis Prep, Brother Michael Moran. What type of information are you looking for and what do you plan to do with it?

We answered with this:

We received a plea from a graduate asking us to please help find him and do what we could to make sure he is not hurting children. This person tracked him for 20 years, then lost track of him when he left the food bank he was operating on Long Island. We received very detailed information from this person from which one could easily conclude that he did not stop his questionable activities when he left SFP. We received another letter from a close friend of someone he hurt. If you have any information about him, it would be appreciated.

And then, she sent this last night:

In the spring of 1980, a relative of mine worked in the 107 Precinct, the same precinct where the school is located. My relative saw the police report detailing the sexual abuse that took place between the principal, Bro. Michael Moran and a student. I was told by my relative, Bro. Michael Moran had sodomized a male freshmen student in his office on several occasions. There were several students, like myself who had relatives in the police department and we all heard the same thing from our cop relatives. The police investigated the charges and believed them to be true. It was a fact not a rumor.

Bro. Michael Moran was immediately removed from his position at the school. No explanation was ever given to the students. No criminal charges were ever filed against Bro. Mike because the student's parents agreed not to press charges when the Franciscan Brothers said they would relocate the principal to a place where he would not have contact with children again.

At the time, it seemed like a win-win. Lock the pedophile up in a monastery somewhere and save victim from having to testify.  Little did we know back then, the Catholic Church didn't always follow through on their part of the bargain and pedophile priests would often end up in locations where they could continue their abusive behavior. I have often wonder if the same was true with Bro. Michael Moran.

A Law and Order show made think about Bro. Mike again. I tried googling his name and came across your blog. I have no idea of his current location. Your response leads me to believe he was never "put away". It makes me sick to think the Catholic Church has once again failed to protect innocent children.

No, Br. Michael Moran wasn't "locked away" in a monastery. He went from Prep directly to Hofstra University to serve as Chaplain. In 1983, he started a food bank on Long Island now named Interfaith Nutrition Network. The person who wrote us asking for help also alleges that in 1983, he was reported at Hofstra for having sex with an 18 year old freshman boy and that is what actually prompted his departure from the school. This person also alleges that Michael Moran used the soup kitchen as a way to have access to the homeless boys whose families came there for help.This is the same MO of Father Bruce Ritter at Covenant House.

Here is a New York Times article discussing Br. Michael and the history of the food pantry:

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9901E2DD1531F937A35751C1A9639C8B63

Michael Moran is out there because St. Francis Prep did not help put him away. I have an 8 year old son, and this disgusts me to no end. It makes me physically sick. Do you care about children at all SFP? It is a legitimate question, because many of you, including some people in the administration, like Ted Jahn (joined SFP administration in 1978), were there in 1980 when Br. Michael was quietly "removed." How do you sleep at night? Do you wake up and look in the mirror and think you are spectacular people doing God's work?

If anyone reading this has any information about Michael Moran's whereabouts, we would appreciate it. The greatest concern with pedophiles is that they DO NOT STOP. They keep doing it until they are caught and put in prison.