A substitute teacher at Johnstown High School is fired after police say he was having inappropriate conversations with a teenage female student. Emily DeFeciani spoke to police and has more.
JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. -- Graig Frank, 31, is now facing multiple charges for sending sexually explicit messages to his 17-year-old student.
According to Johnstown police, the parent of the victim came forward after being notified that a nude photo and video were sent to her teenage daughter by Frank.
Investigators say they've determined there was no physical contact or meetings outside of school; however, messages between the two show talks of being together after graduation.
Frank was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and official misconduct.
The age of consent in New York is 17; however, police say the inappropriateness is due to Frank's status as a teacher.
"You also have some knowledge that somebody might be vulnerable due to circumstances they're going through so you're given a little more insight in their lives and you're there to protect them and guide them in the right direction, not to steer them for your own sexual purposes and that's where we felt this was going," said Johnstown Police Department Lieutenant David Gilbo.
Frank was hired as a substitute through HFM Boces. The superintendent has released the following statement:
“We have confidence in our process and in our people before ever allowing them to enter a classroom of children. However, we cannot know with certainty what’s in a person’s heart, or what decisions they may make in any given situation. It’s always unfortunate when people in a position of authority take advantage of children, and we should never tolerate that.”
Police say Frank has no prior criminal history, but officials are looking into all of the schools he's worked at. If you have any information, you're asked to contact the Johnstown Police Department.