NYC Teacher Sent Students’ Christmas Cards to Inmate Once Charged With Child Porn Possession
- Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:43am by
Billy Hallowell
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A bizarre and troubling story is emerging out of New York City, where the Department of Education’s Special Commissioner of Investigation discovered that a fifth-grade teacher was using students in her class to send greeting cards to a convicted felon. This, in itself, is disturbing and clearly problematic, but the major detail — that the recipient was once charged with child pornography possession — adds a horrific twist to the tale.
The teacher, Melissa Dean, apparently encouraged her class to send their handmade holiday cards to people in need, but instead she mailed them to inmate John Coccarelli. It is important to note that Coccarelli, who is serving time in Groveland Correctional Facility in Groveland, New York, was never convicted of child pornography possession. However, he is currently serving time for weapons charges and for violating an order of protection.
John Coccarelli
In a letter addressed to Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott, Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard J. Condon, wrote:
Dean suggested that the students write personal information on the cards, including their names and addresses, and she printed the name of the student on the back of his or her card. Dean did not obtain permission from the parents or the school administration to allow the children to correspond with the inmate.
The city‘s investigation into Dean’s actions commenced on Dec. 27, 2011, after the principal at her school, Sheila Gorski, logged a complaint, via e-mail, to the city’s Department of Education. This complaint was waged just days after Dean apparently mailed the cards to her imprisoned friend.
In the end, the 27 hand-made cards, which allegedly included some of the children’s addresses, never made it into Coccarelli’s hands, as they were intercepted by an officer and, based on his past history, deemed “inappropriate” for him to possess. The package of student notes apparently arrived at the prison on Dec. 23. After receiving them, officials determined they came from PS 143 and, in turn, called the school’s principal. The rest, of course, is history (read the entire letter describing the incident here).
According to Gothamist, Gorski questioned Dean and the 31-year-old teacher admitted her friendship with Coccarelli and that he, indeed, is imprisoned. The teacher visited the inmate 11 times between Nov. 2010 and Nov 2011 and called him 312 times between Sep. 7, 2011 and Jan. 3, 2012, thus the two are closely connected.
“It is the recommendation of this office that Melissa Dean’s employment be terminated, that she be made ineligible for work with the Department of Education, and that this matter be considered should she apply for any position in the New York City school system, with one of its vendors, or in one of its facilities, in the future,” Condon concluded in his letter.
In later commenting on the matter, Condon said, “[Dean] told [the students the cards] were going to homeless people, going to people in the service, that they were going to people who lived alone. I have no idea what this woman was thinking.”
Walcott, too, had plenty to say about the matter:
“Totally ridiculous and absurd and something that we should not tolerate at all and we are not going to tolerate it. As soon as we heard about it, we removed the teacher. We are moving for that teacher’s termination. It‘s something that’s totally unacceptable when I heard about it, and I can’t say on air what I said to myself because I just find it mind-boggling.”
If all checks out as the city alleges, Dean will surely have a difficult time finding employment in the education field moving forward. For now, she has been reassigned and no longer has contact with children.
(H/T: Gothamist)
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Comments (75)
SamIamTwo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:56amhttp://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Corona-Queens-Teacher-Holiday-Cards-Convicted-Felon-Jail-Melissa-Dean-Fifth-Grade-PS-143-139391538.html
Report Post »Greenie40
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:49amI have no doubt that the Teacher’s Union will defend this idiot. And that, she will be allowed to keep all her public employee benefits and probably still be able to keep teaching. That is how scary our education system has become.
Report Post »CaptMickeyd
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 1:28pmA recommendation has been sent that she be terminated. Are you people even reading the whole article?
Report Post »another pucker
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 3:53pmCome on Captmickeyed, Do you even read about the hundreds if not thousands of teachers who have been labeled as unable to work around children but are still employed and paid to sit in a room all day playing games and knitting or whatever there heart desires and if the union has something it needs done then these teachers get to help. They are unable to be fired because of the union. A recommendation for termination has been sent is just a way to throw the news reporter of insinuating some will be done. This teacher did what she did because she knows she is pretected!
Report Post »babylonvi
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 11:47amThat is only a recommendation, all union right will still be observed. She may indeed wind up in the ‘Rubber Room’ for some time.
Report Post »USPATRIOT101
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:48amAs a parent, Mellissa Dean would need police protection. This is beyond a crime. To recommend she be terminated should be filed while she is behind bars.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:43ammental health tests need to be done in order to work with our kids. The same background etc that the police go through. Just yesturday a teacher at the junior high down the street was arrested for trying to have sex with 13 year old girls. I am so beyond tired of these disgusting freaks and the constant stream of stories regarding these pieces of trash.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:00pmYeah, there should be an age limit…these brain washed children graduation from college go straight into schools to teach, get all comfortable, establish relationships and cross the line…they need to be older or neutered.
IIRC, ObamaCare will take care of that, no doubt…they are all about population control…I should have kept my type writer shut, eh?
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:41amUnbelievable
Paid admin leave and paid relocation costs to a new school will be more like it…
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:35amWhat’s wrong?…well we have TWO generations of peoples that have no morals, no discretion, no ethics, dumber than dirt, in positions that they should not be in, etc etc to the Nth degree.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:37amWell not all of you, but enuff of you to piss off the Pope.
Report Post »Unbelievable
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:33amShe‘ll be sent to New York’s rubber room and collect her paycheck for the next 30+ years.. The Teacher’s Union will make sure of it.
Report Post »kd7htm
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:24amJust one of many reasons why we home-school.
Report Post »mbvrooman
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:24amAll I have to say… My wife was home schooled, she is doing great in Med School. I went to public school, I’m 35 and have not finished my BA yet. I did learn how to drink and shag in HS… So I guess I learned something.
Report Post »don young
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:20amI wonder how many more stupid teachers we have teaching our children this shows you what is wrong with our schools with teachers like this.
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:03pmI would say that this is just the tip, but I get smacked when I say that at home.
Report Post »Yay NEA and we need more educational depts to suck up more taxes and dues and YAY NEA/NYEA and all the other purported A’s out there. Eat your nuggets and shut your pie hole.
BonnieBlueFlag
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:58pm@SoupSandwich
Ha!
“Eat your nuggets and shut your pie hole”
Dam that was funny and true.
Report Post »B-Neil
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:19amWhat do you expect. Most Teachers come from the bottom of the Graduating pool. Then you have the union. They don’t car who gets hired as long as they pay there dues and do as there told. Teachers ar truly, mind numb robots. CARRY ON McDUFF
Report Post »Blackhawk1
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:26pmThose that can do………….Those that can’t, TEACH!
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:16amShe visited him 11 times and called him over three hundred…i got twenty bucks, says she is a fat homely liberal bleeding heart lefty pig……. Twenty bucks ! Cameras in the Classroom NOW !
Report Post »GOP_DEMONS
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:18pmWhat makes you think she is a fat liberal blleding heart? Your description sounds like the typical NY republican desperado! NY Liberals have standards and to tell you the truth, we are damn elitists!!
Report Post »cja23
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:15amAre the liberals going to fire this wrotten excuse for a teacher? No, they’ll probably make her principal. This country has gone insane.
Report Post »GOP_DEMONS
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:20pmPerhaps if you would think coherently you will come to a logical conclusion.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:11amTeaching is no longer a noble profession… The union will protect this vile pig, and she will find employment in another school district….. I keep saying it and i will say it again….. CAMERAS IN THE CLASSROOM….NOW !!! this current crop of creeps indoctrinating our kids will STOP, if they know they are being watched…….
Report Post »cookcountypatriot
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:07amwhat an animal!
Report Post »JayCee
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:15amNah, she is a NYC public school teacher.
Report Post »Don’t insult innocent dumb animals.
Gonzo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:06amWhen a healine starts with “NYC” and “Teacher” you just know it won’t end well.
Report Post »academica2020
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:16amLol !!! So true.
Report Post »HorseCrazy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:40amha ha thanks for the laugh
Report Post »Anonymous T. Irrelevant
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:05am“Dean suggested that the students write personal information on the cards, including their names and addresses, and she printed the name of the student on the back of his or her card. Dean did not obtain permission from the parents or the school administration to allow the children to correspond with the inmate.”
Report Post »——————————————————————————
This pathetic excuse for a teacher doesn’t belong around children. Putting names and addresses on cards sent to prisoners? Without parent’s permission? This should be an invasion of privacy and either a misdemeanor or a felony, for contributing to the delinquincy of a minor, putting a minor in danger. This teacher has no brains whatsoever.
academica2020
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:03amThis is disturbing on many levels and, considering the case in Los Angeles where teachers abused kids for many years, it makes you wonder what kind of evaluation process goes into hiring and, once hired, assessing teachers performance and behaviors.
Report Post »There has been a huge disconnect and I think the teacher’s unions are culpable as well. If you think of the teachers who are charged with behaviors that take them out of the classroom, but continue to be on the payroll, there is a huge problem. In this case, the teacher should be fired and, possibly, be brought up on charges, she is dangerous and should not be influencing children at all.
academica2020
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:26amA family friend is a fourth grade teacher in Pennsylvania. Recently she was called to the principal’s office because parents complained about the fact that she was telling her students how great President Obama is. When she related the story to me, she could not understand why it was a problem. She had NO CLUE! Just goes to show that “educated” people do not necessarily have common sense.
Report Post »IMCHRISTIAN
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:00amWhen he gets out of prison is the school not concerned about the safety of the students who participated? God please protect them as some schools seem to be ignorant.
Report Post »mbvrooman
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:11amAnyone that has their kids in public school needs to re-evaluate. I now know how they tried to indoctrinate me. Their education sucks too. My wife was home schooled, as well as her siblings. She is in Med school and doing very well. Two of her brothers have Masters and the other is in law school. I went to public school, and never finished my BA. I learned how to drink and have sex in High School. They did teach me that FDR was the greatest President… So I guess that they did teach me how to spot a liar.
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:14amThe letters were intercepted, thank God
Report Post »UBETHECHANGE
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:57amPress charges. Get this psycho off the streets. She does not belong in civil society.
Report Post »Qoheleth
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:56amI don’t see a problem with having kids write to inmates. I do see a problem with including personal information, especially addresses and such. I see a major problem with lying to the kids about where the cards were going. Teachers and a host of other folks are required to take training in why you should do anything remotely resembling this. With two strikes like that against the teacher, she should be seeking employment elsewhere.
Report Post »cassandra
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 8:52amI see a big problem with having children write letters to inmates how about having them write letters to our service men and women now that would be patriotic but of course our teachers hate the military
Report Post »DD313
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:54amThis seems to be surprisingly quick action for a NYC school district. How long will the union draw it out?
Report Post »oldguy49
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:03amdon’t worry……they will get her out of the school but continue paying her for the rest of her life………rubber room
Report Post »SoupSandwich
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 4:06pmJust until the new ones from LA get there.
Report Post »GeorgeWashingtonslept here
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:54amI‘d bet she’s into child pornography also. Birds of a feather I always say…………………What a feminine hygiene bag!
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:50amPut her jail with her pedophile boyfriend…and make sure all of her cellmates know why she’s there.
Report Post »Merry Christmas to you, Melissa….
GhostOfJefferson
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:47amIf you’re charged with a crime, but not convicted, then you are innocent of the crime. That’s how the legal system works.
Report Post »ozchambers
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 10:55amYeah, but that still doesnt excuse sending childrens Christmas cards to a felon when she told them they were making cards for the homeless.
Report Post »_waTson_
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:01amthe police will decide if she broke a law and charge her .. the school has an obligation to protect it’s students and this is a devious, potentially harmful act to bring upon your students. it was a dumb and dangersous thing to do ..
Report Post »Gonzo
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:04amGhost is right…just ask O.J.
Report Post »Detroit paperboy
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:05amGhost
Report Post »Nope, it means you were’nt convicted…. It does not mean you are innocent, big difference…..guilty people go free everyday !
GhostOfJefferson
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:05amI agree with you Oz about the deception issue, no question at all.
It’s just the presumption that “charged with = convicted of” that the story tries to slip in that bugs me.
Report Post »GhostOfJefferson
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:11amYou can say “it just means that they weren’t convicted”, and that’s right of course, but then one cannot presume guilt nor innocence to make that claim. Not a lot of folks are refraining from the presumption of guilt, which is the article’s point in trying to stir the presumption of guilt.
Report Post »ozchambers
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:29amyeah, I understand what you mean Ghost. It’s technically correct, but I think the story would be more “honest” if it left it out. The story is bad enough without implications.
Report Post »academica2020
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 11:32am@GHOSTOFJEFFERSON:
Report Post »Funny you should point that out, because when Joe Paterno died, there were over 500 comments posted here on The Blaze saying he was complicit in the Sandusky scandal, some even saying he should burn in Hell. So, the “guilty until proven innocent” court of public opinion bias is pretty common. I even commented above that she should be fired and, perhaps, brought up on charges.
You cant handle the truth
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 2:12pmCongrats to the New York State Correction Officer on intercepting the package. These men and women are the unsung heroes of the criminal justice system. Almost any time you hear about them is for something bad they have done. There are over 20,000 New York State Correction Officers that go through the gate and work in the most dangerous and thankless profession in the state. The next time you see a Correction Officer, thank them for the work that they do to keep New York safe.
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