$2M suit over a ‘perv’ principal

AN EDUCATOR accused of bedding four or more teachers and at least one student at a Queens high school tormented female subordinates who complained about him, a new $2 million lawsuit charges.

John Binet was named assistant principal at Hillcrest High School in February 2014 after his pal, David Morrison, was promoted to principal, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed late Sunday.

Two teachers who worked under him, Caroline Shin and Eleni Giannousis, allege in their suit that Binet, 40, created a “sexually charged atmosphere for the female teachers and students” — and punished them when they complained to Morrison and union reps.

“Even before he became the (assistant principal), while he was director of the English department, Binet (photo) engaged in public displays of affection at the school (that) included kissing and sexual touching with a female teacher, in the school’s classrooms, hallways and stairwells during school hours,” the bombshell court documents allege.

“Binet’s relationship with this teacher only marked the start of his sexually inappropriate conduct with at least four female faculty, whose names are known to the plaintiffs, and at least one and possibly four students of the school.”

“This student has expressed her emotional pain to members of the school and has suffered shock and emotional harms as Binet never contacted the student again after having sex with her,” the suit says.

Neither Shin, 37, nor Giannousis, 34, claims Binet overtly hit on them, but they allege his behavior included stalking and spreading lies — as well as outright cruelty.

After Shin told Binet and Morrison she would be out for approximately a week because of a miscarriage in September 2014, Binet repeatedly texted her for three days demanding lesson plans, she alleges in the suit. About one month later, Binet called Shin into a meeting and said “‘No one in the school likes you,’ and further, that ‘You are difficult to work with’ and that she had a ‘bad reputation at school . . . ’ ” court papers claim. “When Ms. Shin began crying, in response, Binet told her, ‘Look, I know what happened to you, but I am not going to walk on eggshells for you’ and Binet then referred to her as a ‘fragile butterfly.’ ”

With Giannousis, Binet once texted her “in the late evening,” asking “what does a night in Eleni’s life look like?”

“Starting in the spring semester of 2014, on approximately 54 different occasions, Binet ‘checked in’ with Ms. Giannousis during her lunch hour,” the suit says. “For no particular reason Binet would peer over Ms. Giannousis’ shoulder and stand approximately 6 inches from her person, making her exceedingly uncomfortable.”

Shin still works at the school under Binet — who makes $113,771 per year.

But at least six staffers have fled — including Giannousis — because of Binet’s behavior, the suit says. The suit also claims Morrison “has a documented history of being less than forthright and manipulating records in order to serve his self-interest.”

In 2016, the suit states, “Morrison was caught creating fake online classes and passing 172 students in the fake classes in order to boost the graduation rates of the school.” The Education Department found the accusations were substantiated, and he received counseling, the department said.

“It’s just incredible that in 2018, we can still see behavior like this,” said lawyer Fred Lichtmacher, who represents the women.Education spokesman Douglas Cohen said the department is investigating the claims in the suit.

Neither Binet nor Morrison responded to requests for comment. With Trevor Boyer