By Matthew Monks
Cheryl Reyna, 32, a Spanish teacher at Martin Luther High School, pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child in Queens Criminal Court and was ordered to surrender her teacher's license and keep away from the victim for three years, the DA said.
Reyna was arrested in March on charges that she repeatedly had sex with one of her students, a senior who was 16 years old at the time. Law enforcement officials said Reyna, who is married, was friendly with the victim's family and had been the girl's teacher for four years.
According to the criminal complaint, Reyna and the girl had sex nearly a dozen times at both Reyna's home at 60-17 60th Place and at the girl's house. Their sexual liaison lasted two months between August and October last year, the complaint states.
The family learned of the affair when they became suspicious of where their daughter was spending her free time and questioned one of her friends, The Daily News reported.
The DA said Reyna avoided up to four years in prison by pleading guilty to child endangerment, and will be sentenced on June 14. Judge Douglas S. Wong said he would impose a sentence of six years' probation, the DA said.
She was ordered to resign from the school before her sentencing, and surrender her teacher's license or face possible jail time, he said.
The DA said the victim's family fully supported the action.
Reyna has taught at the Lutheran parochial school, which has about 400 students, since 1997. She was immediately suspended following the accusations.
School spokeswoman Kelli Westfal would not say if she had resigned or had been fired yet.
“I can't comment on it,” Westfal said.
Reyna's lawyer could also not be reached for comment.
Students at Martin Luther described Reyna as a nice teacher who liked to joke around. Senior Matthew Kohler told the TimesLedger in March that it was obvious that Reyna and the girl were close, because he would often see them talking outside of class and once heard them discussing dinner plans.
Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
