By Dustin Brown
A veteran teacher at a Sunnyside elementary school was arrested last week for allegedly molesting two third-grade boys in his classroom at PS 199, the district attorney said.
William Salcedo, 50, of 132-03 Rico Place in Ozone Park, was charged with sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child at his arraignment last Thursday before Judge Lenora Gerald in Queens County Criminal Court, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.
Salcedo is accused of repeatedly abusing two students, an 8-year-old boy and a 9-year-old boy, over the past two months in his classroom at PS 199 at 39-20 48th Ave.
“According to the criminal court complaint, the defendant physically touched the two boys in his classroom, subjecting one boy to unwanted sexual contact and subjecting the other to unwanted and inappropriate physical contact,” Brown said in a news release. “The incidents are alleged to have occurred during class and to have been injurious to the mental, physical and emotional welfare of both victims.”
The veteran teacher was arrested June 26 by detectives from the Queens Special Victims Squad. Salcedo has taught at Sunnyside’s PS 199 since 1994, Board of Education spokesman Kevin Ortiz said, and he has logged a total of 20 years as a teacher, according to Brown.
He was arrested on the last day of school and will be kept out of the classroom pending the outcome of the case, Ortiz said.
“He was reassigned to the district office immediately after the allegations surfaced,” Ortiz said.
Salcedo allegedly touched the 9-year-old victim inappropriately and groped him repeatedly through his clothing, Brown said. He also is accused of touching the 8-year-old on the stomach and then moving his hands down until he reached the boy’s underwear, the district attorney said.
School officials informed the DA’s Special Victim’s Bureau of the allegations immediately after the 9-year-old boy’s family contacted the school June 25, Brown said.
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
