Former teacher shares allegations of sexual misconduct on Facebook –
Justin Murphy – Rochester Democrat and Chronicle USA TODAY NETWORK – in the D&C on 12/2/21 on page A3
A fast-developing furor over the handling of sexual harassment and assault allegations in the East Irondequoit Central School District led to student walkouts Monday and Tuesday at Eastridge High School, with students accusing the district of condoning misconduct.
The students said Tuesday afternoon that they hope to keep pressure on the administration to address the issue. Eastridge Principal Timothy Heaphy, meanwhile, wrote in a letter to parents that “no more protesting will be allowed.”
On Nov. 21, former East Irondequoit Middle School science teacher Alyssa Rutherford shared a lengthy public message on Facebook, saying that she’d left the district after a fellow teacher sexually harassed her and that district leadership, including the principal, failed to address it.
Rutherford said the other teacher, a male who occupied the classroom next door to hers, made inappropriate comments and gestures about her body and her recent experience losing a pregnancy. Among other things, she said, he suggested her baby had died because she got the COVID-19 vaccine while pregnant.
Rutherford said she told the interim middle school principal, Chris Sloane, about the issue, and that Sloane responded that it wouldn’t be worth moving the teacher to another room because she then would need to move a different male into the neighboring classroom, “and if I’m being honest he would probably treat you the same way.”