These types of deals where the teacher is allowed to resign instead of being fired infuriate me because he will still end up getting all his retirement benefits since at 57 he likely had more than enough years in to qualify. School officials do not want anyone to find out because they know the outrage that this would cause. He should have received some jail time for abusing his position in this manner instead of being let off the hook with probation. What he did is reprehensible and was a gross abuse of his position. Anyone who abuses being in a position of trust with children in this way should always have to serve some prison time.

The fact that the photos were found in 2010 but doesn't make the news until now doesn't concern people?

Why does NBCNews always delete the photos of the criminal when other news agencies/outlets include them?

he'll be teaching in a town near you by next fall.

Moron

Officials with the New York City Department of Education said Matthews will not be allowed to teach in the district.

He shouldn't be allowed to teach anywhere at all...ever!

Smackwhackle, you insult mongoloids everywhere.

To me this illustrates the stark differences in how these cases are viewed in different states.

In some states, you can go to jail if you have an "inappropriate relationship" with a student, even if that student is 18 and legally an adult.

Here we have a case of child molestation--perhaps even child pornography--with an underage youth, and this sick jackass is free to "move on with his life".

I understand we're a nation of individual states...but in my opinion the disparity (and injustice) in how these cases are handled is staggering.

He should be in court, fighting for his freedom. Not out in public fighting for a teaching certificate in another state.

How about we allow him to teach...fellow inmates in prison?! Lock the perv up!

lol mongoloid? this is typical caucasoid behavior...

Really? 1 year of probation for molestation and producing kiddie porn WTF

probation? not fired so he still gets his benefits? really is this what our country is coming to. you go to jail for smoking, selling, or buying pot. you get probation for sexual child abuse. changes to our judicial system and forms of punishment really need to happen. i say death penalty for sexual child abuse.

JS- do you know if the school would have to hand out a severance pay if they fired the teachers? (I have no idea what the policy is/how much it would be/what the amount would be in comparison to the amount paid upon resigning-could resigning be cheaper for the district?). I agree that it should say fired on their teaching record, rather than resigned, since people resign for all kinds of reasons, and not necessarily bad ones. I'm just wondering if there's a reason virtually all teachers involved in misconduct (that results in criminal charges) are allowed to resign rather than be fired.

I also agree that his sentence was way too light.

alright for something like what this teacher did, there should (would) be no severence pay. the sexual assault on this student, should have made all contracts of employment null and void.

Maybe the judge who gave him the sentence has a few skeletons in his closet also. Thats why he got off so easy.

First, what makes any of you think that had he been fired he would lose his retirement benefits? He's a GOVERNMENT employee, don't you know. My bet is that the district would have to show that his behavior was conducted all along in order to do anything about his retirement in any case, even if he were convicted and senteced to actual prison time.

Second, yes, it is pathetic that in NYC there is a rubber room where hundreds of teachers who cannot be allowed into a classroom spend their days. They read, play parcheesi, whatever. And collect their pay, just like this criminal did for a few years until he was finally convicted upon a plea of GUILTY. And yes, it is even more pathetic that the MSM spends no time documenting these cases. Why enrage the masses over the vast corruption underway, you know?

Third, a janitor finds the photos on a CD? So the only way Raemon was caught was that a janitor was checking out computer media while on the job? Let's hope he wasn't waxing his carrot too. So glad that school administrators supervise their employees so closely.

Fourth, and lastly, maybe we should also want to imprison this girl's parents for naming her "boo-boo".

Oh, a question...which of these four points is straight up sarcasm? Leftists are right now weighing their options....

ps--Only in NYC, I hope, can you find a school named for a socialist with a love of Marxism. How ironic it is that in a socialistic system in a school named for a socialist would you find the powerful screwing, or trying to screw, the poor and downtrodden, the weak and the powerless. You can't make this stuff up!

Another NYC teacher problem ? My oh my.

Meanwhile, the resignation agreement probably included a Golden Parachute at taxpayer expense.

But.....but.....but.....didn't I see the teacher in a video on the picket line saying "It is all for the children" ?

We need to see to photos so that we can judge the "racey-ness" of them.

The custodian found the photos? Yeah, right!

Rich,

Did you forget Agnew and Nixon resigned so they could keep their gov. benies? If impeached they would have lost them. They recieved full pay until their death.

Poor guy... he should have screwed the girl like that female teacher screwed that 13 year old boy and only got a years house arrest. But then women pedophiles never receive the same treatment their male counterparts do, do they? Justice is so fair!!!

OMG! + WTH!!!! 0ne year probation? He's damn lucky it wasn't my daughter I can promise he would NOT " be getting on with his life " !

Rich @ 1.15. Samuel Gompers was not a socialist except in his early years. He became increasingly involved with getting labor and management to get along for their mutual benefit rather than lead some revolution dedicated to overthrowing capital.

His views were sufficiently non-socialist that a miners' union broke with Gompers' CIO to form the International Workers of the World. In fact, Gompers supported the arrest of strikers during WWI because they were hindering the U.S. war effort.

A park in Chicago is named for him, and the decision makers in Chicago were not socialists.

The U.S. Navy [a notorius hotbed of commie sedition/s] also named a class of Destroyer Tenders for Gompers: The USS Samuel L. Gompers (AD-37) was launched 14. May 1966 and commissioned 1. July 1970. She was active until 27 October 1995, having served 28+ years of active service, earning several unit and Joint Meritorious Citations, a Commendation Letter from the Secretary of the Navy and 5 Battle "E" Ribbons. Some socialist.

“My client accepted responsibility and he’s moving on with his life.” Old Perverts just gonna go to the Suburbs in another state and get another teaching job most likely. I hope the conditions of his WHOLE YEAR of hard Probation at least includes a lifetime ban from teaching rider attached to it.

Big flippin deal, the girl was probably three months from her 18th birthday. By the sounds of it she didn't put up much resistance to his advances either. What a joke, I bet half of you idiots that are acting all alarmed probably masturbate to eighteen year old's on the internet all the time.

If, as you say, there would be no severance pay, then why aren't any of the teachers fired after committing crimes like this? Why allow them to resign? If a teacher does something like this, they should be fired, which should prevent them from finding another teacher job after their sentencing/jailtime etc is finished. It's a lot easier to spin a resignation for future job prospects than a firing.

I know this guy is wrong for what he did but so is the female. She was 17 yrs old and should have known better. When he first asked her to take the 1st picture she should have reported him. I don't want to hear that lame excuse that he gave her about needing a photo portfolio to get into college. 2nd, when he began to fondle her why didn't she report it? Am I to believe she was not taught any of these things by her parents? With all that being said, I'm glad he has been caught. I hope he has to go into a national registry as a sexual preditor.

@Lenora,

This man was in a position of trust and this girl may just have trusted him enough to believe him. Some of us at that age idolized or, at least, respected some of our teachers UNTIL they did something weird!

What really bothers me that no one seems to bring up is, what might he have done all the years before he got caught? He was in the perfect career to have many many victims. I'm tired of this government devaluing the life of our children. Once caught, these people, who 99% cannot be retrained to behave decently, should be dealt with very harshly. Sex abusers often create really messed up people, which if we HAVE to look at it in a monetary way, costs the tax payers millions of dollars in several ways: a) prisons for angry victims who commit crimes and/or become sexual abusers b) therapy for screwed up victims who can't hold a job or keep a marriage together c) Welfare for kids who have no child support coming in from perv dad's and mom's in therapy or doing drugs... Well, I could go on. It's difficult to assign a hard amount of cash to the damage, but it's not that difficult to imagine the devastation this kind predatory behavior casts over the world. Kind of like when you drop a pebble in a pond? There are ripples. Only, envision dropping thousands and millions of pebbles in that pond! The pond disappears and becomes a pile of pebbles, the water gets dispersed. If we don't take this stuff seriously and make these guys and gals who hurt our children pay a hard price - at least as harsh as someone who commits armed robbery!!! What message are we sending?

These types of deals where the teacher is allowed to resign instead of being fired infuriate me because he will still end up getting all his retirement benefits since at 57 he likely had more than enough years in to qualify.

You people know nothing about teachers' benefits, because you do not get those benefits if you're convicted of a crime involving the school, students, or other teachers. It says so in the teacher contracts.

Kathryne, she very well could have trusted him but at the age of 17 she should have know better or at least ask someone else about it before complying. People are makeing way too many excuses for people not thinking before acting and the consequences of his or action. That's for both parties. Yes it is sad that it happened to her but something should have clicked in her mind before she did that, that just wasn't right. Why is that when parents are disciplining their childrens they say you know or should know better? Do that only apply to certain situation and at a certain age? In this day and age it is way too many resources for a person to use to verify information. At what age does a parent start instilling in their child/ren what's approriate and what's not?

Only after the funds are wasted in Los Angeles with a 55 percent dropout rate would one know what a education hole really is! The Mayor of Los Angeles is responsible for 8 years of deepening failure!

I think Newark and Camden, NJ would beat NYC.

There's always "green energy" investments. Those are working out well.

in case you haven't read, you klutz, nyc public school system just produced another nobel prize winner this year. open your narrow ignorant mind one day

Thats like saying Vans produced another nobel prize winner because they wore them at one time.

Does anyone else see any fault with someone posting on this news item with a login name of "DirtyPantiesLover"?

Why is the NYC system failing? What exactly is the problem? It is not as if the school purposely hired a pervert...

Not a name to be taken seriously........dirtypantieslover....

Hmmmmm. This guy gets not even a misdemeanor and a year probation for fondling a minor and taking nude pictures of her while I get a felony and a 1 to 2 1/2 sentence for growing a few cannabis plants in my closet for my arthritis. Both he and I live in NYS so we live under the same rules and laws.

What gives?

Is this what we call a justice system?

Is this how our society "molds" people as to how to live their lives?

Which one of us victimized someone?

Which one of us would you want for a neighbor?

hank-1773286

No shortage of morons in the world.

Agreed. Anyone who thinks they need a portfolio of nude pictures to get into college has no business going to college.

No, Denver bill 2, that simply confirms that she is still very much a child and can be convinced by an adult of many improbable things, especially an adult "in a position of trust." It takes a long time for kids to get skeptical of overtures of false friendship, offers of free credit and other scams. That's why it's so illegal to do what he did and I can't believe he's not being prosecuted...

S. Williams-430936

No, Denver bill 2, that simply confirms that she is still very much a child and can be convinced by an adult of many improbable things, especially an adult "in a position of trust."

If she is 17 years old and still doesn't know better than to disrobe in front of grown men, her parents belong in jail too. And you can't rule out the possibility that she did know better, and did it anyway.

i was thinking the same thing

you can't rule out the possibility that she did know better, and did it anyway.

And its not like she was the one that reported the photo shoot either.

He's NOT GOING to jail. Read the story. He's "getting on with his life".

Hmmmmm. This guy gets not even a misdemeanor and a year probation for fondling a minor and taking nude pictures of her while I get a felony and a 1 to 2 1/2 sentence for growing a few cannabis plants in my closet for my arthritis. Both he and I live in NYS so we live under the same rules and laws.

What gives?

Is this what we call a justice system?

Is this how our society "molds" people as to how to live their lives?

Which one of us victimized someone?

Which one of us would you want for a neighbor?

Damnit Denver, Thank You. I was starting to believe that I was the only person who thought that. Not only that, she got in a cage, it happened more than once, and she let him fondle her. As I stated earlier, I'm glad he's been found out but when are people going to start using common sense. But wait, did the article say that she didn't want to fail his class? So it's more to it than meets the eye.

aaronlee are you saying she reported and the school simply did nothing about it? I thought the school only found about when the janitor found the pics on the computer. Why didn't she tell her parents about it?

He took some photos of a girl who is legally allowed to consent to sexual intercourse, what do you want from him? A pound of flesh? Execute him? Jeesh big deal out of not much.

Well, she was underage and she did make it seem to be somewhat of a bribery scheme in order to pass the class. Something about receiving only a slap on the wrist in the big picture doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention he did admit to touching her innappropriately.

The problem resides in the fact that he was her teacher. If he were just some guy then this would still be wrong because she is 17 but it would be a little more of a gray area

The issue lies in him being in a position of authority over her. That makes it what is essentially the same idea as sexual harassment in the workplace where the boss says "do it or I'll fire you," with addition that the school has what I imagine is en loco parentis, which could not only allow them to provide for the welfare of the student, but generally requires them to. It may be in NYC they have a different name for mandatory reporting, but the ideas the same; this man was obligated to actively prevent sexual abuse, and he perpetrated it through authority vested to him by the school.

The man is a sex offender, no matter how you choose to perceive his actions. He was wrong, and deserves whatever consequences come his way.

Mike.D34: Time to think back. Reconsider what it was like to be that age in high school. Think of how you would have felt had you had an older teacher tell you 'either do it or I'll flunk you' (either photos or sex). Even if you were of age, would you have wanted to be in this position? Doubtful this girl, even if she was over the age of consent, did either and probably felt trapped by a person in authority over her.

Most states include special circumstances that allowed for the elevation of the crime to "aggravated" when the criminal is in a position of authority such as boss, teacher, clergy, etc.

But this guy was once nationally recognized for his ability to teach memorization techniques to kids and was recognized for his exceptionally high success in the students passing the national exams. NBC News where is your mention of that?

mike d he did it on school grounds...which in itself is against the law ...reading is fundamental

and if it were your daughter... you would be saying this is no big deal...riiiiiiiiiiiiight

frankie if it was my daughter he would be dead period. i would put 2 in his chest and one in his head from about 400 meters out.

@ eric1964 ... and then YOU would spend the rest of your life in prison.

Murder is worse than sexual assualt on a 17 year old. Neither is going to win you citizen of the year, but murder is worse. Don't be stupid.

Fire the guy fine, but really what he did was hardly worthy of a hard prison sentence or castration like some idiots are calling for. Women teachers do this seemingly everyday (and actually have sex with the students) and it's glorified and they avoid jailtime for actual rape.

This guy here is a bit of a perv, but really this isn't a huge deal.

the pervert was pushing 60 years old. I'm sure he jerked-off to those pictures many of times. You can't trust anyone at all these days.

Mike...it is a big deal. This perverst used his position to take advantage of a student. Misdemeanor charge seems to easy, his teaching certificate should be permanently revoked, and his retirmement should be taken away.

No pretty sure that female teacher/coach, in Ohio I think it was, got in trouble too. I might add she is smoking hot too. Mike it seems as though the "To Catch a Predator" series needs to come back....maybe for you?

OMG Get over it. More men get in trouble for it because more men get caught doing it. How is it a double standard? Mary Kay or Kate or whatever her name is, did hard time man. The cheerleading coach is also in trouble. Why? 'Cause they got caught.

I'd be more concerned about not having anyone abuse children, and not use this as a platform to whine about how unfair life is for guys. <eyeroll> I mean, are you like defending the dude or just hating on the ladies?

Uh, she had sex with the underage student, and never got jail time or had to register.

Sorry keep it cool and cp, there is a huge double standard and saying get over it is a very dumb and ignorant way of addressing an issue.

Yeah OK CP actually the teacher in the Cincinnati case raped a 14 year old (at the time) and got no jail time at all, no sex offender registry, and nothing on her record. So please spare me the "no double standard" a guy has sex with a 17 year old 18 year old female student people want him killed, a woman does it and she's just looking to cut lose, it's ridiculous.

Uh, she went to jail. For having sex with an underage student AND not following conditions of release. To say she didn't go to jail is a dumb and ignorant false statement.

It really is not that much of a double standard. Seriously. Where does that have place in this article? This guy isn't going to jail.... and this is not about a woman. So why are you whining? It was just another losing attempt to distract from the subject at hand- which is a DUDE committing a crime. Period.

One way to battle this horrible travesty of one sided justice? Stop glorifying sex to young boys and men. Stop checking out the teachers. Stop whistling at the girls walking by. Stop teaching boys that they are only rated based on how many broads the bone. Stop objectifying women. Stop having bikini contests and wet T-shirt fiascos. Stop trying to get girls drunk so they can't say no. AND then START teaching those same young boys and men that they should not be proud of it and that they need to report it. And so on.

Shoot, women only been voting about 100 years. Only allowed to own property that long. Only in the last 30 or so years have they had the option to make almost as much as a male counterpart. And so on. So.. most of the laws written, were written by men- blame yourself.

Glad we could digress to a pointless argument about gender. People are individuals, just so you know. And individuals should be held accountable for individual behavior. Well, except when they get a good lawyer of course. No different than OJ or Casey Anthony.

And I still say- get over it. Or, go out on the streets and fight for the injustice of it all.

Mike most of the time, the female teacher is attractive. The unattractive ones, get jail time... Well most of the time...

CP, To Catch A Predator needs to come back for kids too on what not to do. How many different ways can it be said that something just isn't appropriate regardless of who it is telling you it is. It can be your parents, the neighbor, a cop, or a teacher. If it appears wrong than more than likely it is. That show is a good information source but the sad thing about it, there are still kids out here that don't think it can happen to them. There also predators out here who don't think they will be caught.

My concern is that, just as WE hear more and more about this kind of stuff, the kids are also reading and hearing about it too. There are a lot of immature kids out there that would use something like this to get back at a teacher that they feel has been rough or unfair with them (though nothing of an inappropriate nature). They don't have the maturity to understand that this kind of thing can ruin lives. I'd considering going into teaching after having been out of work for a while but the more of this kind of thing I hear, the less I want to take the chance with anyone pre-college.

I agree with you that it has come to the point that as a teacher I would have to stand with my hands behind my back at all times and always have more than one person present durring a conversation. Some people might just make up stuff to get back at the teachers and lets face it, once the accusations go out your career is ruined even if its not true

I agree that it could be a problem if it were just he said, she said but there were pictures....

That kind of puts a few nails in the coffin.

Taking photos of this girl inside a "storage cage" and fondling her! C'm John B & Smartone! This goes WAY behind standing with your "hands behind your back"! Way to blame the victim!

I didnt blame the victim and i guess you didnt read the conversation. this case is a no brainer but we were discussing other occurances that might come up.

now mind your own business

I have to admit that if you aren't attracted to some of these students, maybe you haven't been looking. The point is some of them MAY be attractive, but just have sense enough to realize that the laws aren't there to be mean, they are there to protect both parties, and that normal people know the difference between "s/he's an attractive girl/guy" and "I'm going to have sex with her."

"I have to admit that if you aren't attracted to some of these students, maybe you haven't been looking."

Haha are you serious!! I see plenty of attractive young kids but that doesn't mean i'm attracted to them. The thought of being with a child (even a young-adult for that matter) sickens me - regardless of their attractiveness. There is something wrong with you that the only reason you are not acting on your impulses is because there are laws that will put you in jail. Dude what's wrong with you!?

I don't think there's ANYTHING wrong with looking and noticing just acting on it.

Go into any Hooters restaurant, the young ladies range from 17 on up. Tell me you're not looking, though I have to admit when one of them told me she was still in high school I did have to look away.

I am serious, and I'll assume that was a question, even though you ended it like this!!

If you're not attracted, good for you. Even if you are attracted, it's none of my business, as long as you don't rape my daughter. And the only thing that's wrong with me is that I am more honest than you are. And of course you can ignore the point; know the difference between "attractive" and "let's have sex". I won't mind. Because you're not attracted.

You just have a wide stance.

Hey, all you guys who replied to John B are correct, as is John B. I'm a retired professor, and my son teaches and coaches high school. Its only natural to be attracted regardless of age, but usually the attraction is aesthetic only, like "that's a beautiful young lady." No problem, just enjoy the beauty. I do understand some older guys are actually sexually attracted to young girls, and that's sad. I enjoyed their beauty, but preferred women my own age (like my wife). My son also enjoys the beauty of young ladies, but is literally sickened by a suggested sexual attraction. He's a big guy and he will hurt you. Let's love these kids, not hurt them.

2liberal: Exactly!!! I enjoy looking at beautiful people of all ages. Hell, I was born and raised in Los Angeles around beautiful people all my life. I can see a 16 year old girl and think "wow, what a hottie, she is going to grow up to be a real knockout". Same with the guys. We're human I think it's natural to be drawn to beauty in all ages - but that doesn't mean i want to have sex or am sexually attracted to them!! I'm attracted to adults - people that have matured. That's what get's me off. Not some high school kid!! It would be like doing my kid sister. Again, as I said to Orthosophy (who has a daughter ugh) - there is something wrong with you if the only thing holding you back from being with a kid is the law.

Orthosopy: Let me ask you this question: If tomorrow it was perfectly legal to be with a 16 year old - would you?

Not just teachers John B. There are perverts in all walks of life. Let's not take this as a way to attack teachers. All perverts are no good. And by you saying you have no interest in sex...and that is the answer? I would say you have some weird issues too.

JB: John said he has no interest in sex with kids. Perhaps the thought of being with a child would be like watching your own kid be with an adult.

Certainly there are pervs in all walks of life, but being a teacher/coach/youth pastor etc. gives you access to young people and influence and power over them that you wouldn't be nearly as likely to have if you were an architect, engineer, accountant, electrician or some other occupation where the professional interaction is mostly or entirely with other adults. Therefore those in professions involving interaction with the young need to be monitored even more closely than the general run of people do.

Mike, learn to read.

In my state it IS legal to have sex with a 16 year old. Would I? No. I cant mentally connect. Do you think its a cosmic coincidence that Playboy offers child actresses million dollar shoots a week after their birthday? Do you think they turned more attractive overnight, by magic? Do you go to hooters for the chicken wings? Ever bought a "girls gone wild" video? If a girl was walking down the beach would you card her before you decide how she looks?

Quit being an argumentative tool. The point is NORMAL people sometimes look. They don't have sex with their students.

whats wrong with teachers....how about police,teachers,judges,politicians,generals,coaches.your neighbor. the list goes on an on

Rlquall

Not surprising at all they wanted to avoid putting the young lady on the stand in court so the plea bargained.

Plus she was 17. He is guilty of sexual harassment, an offense that is usually handled by firing or forced retirement/resignation. The school system saves a lot of legal fees and still gets rid of him from their school system. And with the news reporting, this guy won't find a job in teaching anytime soon. And another plus is we don't have to support him while he is in jail.

Hope you think that you're being funny or ironic, since that's pretty unlikely for a NYC school teacher!

I agree. But I also read this thinking... exactly what is a custodian doing takin people's files, CDs, etc? In my case, I work in HR. I don't trust the custodians to stay out of stuff, so we lock it up. But of course, it needed to be reported once seen.. just interesting snooping.

Thought that he was going to see a famous war movie, The 300. But he saw an entirely different display of flesh instead. Glad that if he thought that he had anything to fear from his own wrongdoing he nonetheless risked it to make sure that something happened to a far worse offender.

Yeah, right -- it's a Catholic New York City School District high school. Apparently a level of education which you never aquired.

Yeah, that's the answer, let's just abolish the First Amendment and let all of the teachers, including the perverts who will focus on the passages about how women must submit to men, read the Bible to everyone. And yeah, Comcast and GE (who own NBC) are hotbeds of Republicanism, which is why Imelt is on Obama's "Jobs Council". How do you remember to breathe?

what an a-hole post from retired and rick

Why so many quotation marks? Why????? WHY????????????????????????????????????

Good grief, Holly, they aren't quotation marks. They are question marks. Gack!

This post is totally useless without pics!!!!