NY Teacher Filmed Sex with Boy, Charged with Rape
Tara Driscoll, 33, a teacher at Campus Magnet High School in Queens has been arrested for having sex with a 16-year-old student in a Long Island hotel this past March.
Police were tipped off when the teen confessed after being confronted by his mother, leading investigators to a video tape showing the pair mid-encounter.
Driscoll is now been charged with third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act.
It's unclear whether the unnamed student was assigned to Driscoll's classroom, or if they met under different circumstances.
Regardless, the pair made plans to meet somewhere in Queens, which Gothamist reports culminated in Tara Driscoll driving to a motel in Long Island where they then engaged in sexual acts.
Though the teen appears to have consented, the legal age of consent in New York is 17.
Rape in the third degree, which is a statutory rape statute, occurs when a person above the age of 21 engages in sexual intercourse with a person less than 17-years-old.
Additionally, when a person above the age of 21 engages in oral or anal sexual conduct with a person under the age of 17, it is considered to be third-degree criminal sexual conduct under New York state law.
If the video tape of Tara Driscoll and the 16-year-old boy was acquired in a legal manner and clearly shows the pair engaged in any of the above behaviors, then this should be a cut and dry case, as there is no defense to this level of statutory rape.
Related Resources:
- NYC teacher accused of having sex with student (Associated Press)
- Statutory Rape (FindLaw)
- Texas Teacher had Sex with 5 Students, Cops Say (FindLaw Blotter)