2 tryst teens
Another student to accuse teacher
A QUEENS gym teacher accused of a yearlong tryst with a teen student wrestler also bedded a second student, sources said Tuesday.
Hours after Joy Morsi, 39, of Massapequa, L.I., pleaded not guilty to charges of raping the Grover Cleveland High School student when he was 16, two sources confirmed to the Daily News that additional charges were expected after a second student lover came forward.
“This case is particularly disturbing because the defendant is a teacher and schools should be safe havens for children,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.
The relationship with the wrestler at the Ridgewood school began in June 2013, when Morsi began trying to help him lose weight, prosecutors said.
Morsi soon abandoned her role as mentor, and emailed the teen asking if he was a virgin, prosecutors said. She also sent sent him raunchy selfies, they charged.
On June 5, Morsi lured the victim into a “secluded closet” in the school gym where the two had a sexual encounter, prosecutor Taylor Piscionere said.
For the next six weeks 20 to 30 more encounters occurred, including hookups in her car, prosecutors charged.
“This defendant is accused of sexually preying upon one of her students during rendezvous all over the school,” Brown said.
The student turned 17 during the nearly year-long affair, prosecutors said, making subsequent alleged encounters legal.
The victim alerted authorities two weeks ago after Morsi became jealous when he scored a prom date, prosecutors said.
The stone-faced teacher did not comment after being ordered held on $25,000 bail. She faces charges of third-degree rape, third-degree criminal sexual act and one count of endangering the welfare of a child. Details about the second student were not available.
Morsi’s husband, Hany Morsi, attended the hearing but did not accompany her as she left the courtroom. Hany — who teaches science at the same school — did not comment to reporters.
Students at the school said rumors had long swirled about Morsi and the student.
“We had a feeling that something was going on,” said ninth-grader Josie Gonzalez. “They would always be together around the school.”
Bianca i Racz, 18, said id she h and d other h students d had suspected the two were involved for at least one year.
“I see them together all the time,” Racz, a senior, said. “It’s not like they were sexual and touched each other, but they used to hug and stuff in the halls all the time.”
Morsi’s attorney, Virginia Lopreto, signaled she would fight the case.
“My client’s ties to the community have been verified,” Lopreto said. “Her husband is here. She has a family and children. She’s very likely to see this through.”
Morsi started working as a gym teacher in 1999, has a clean discipline record and earns $79,531 a year, according to records. She has been suspended from her teaching post, an Education Department spokeswoman said.
Student Hajar Rajah was shocked and said Morsi was a good teacher. “She pushes people in gym all the time to work out, and that’s a good thing, you know?” Rajah said.
If convicted, Morsi faces up to four years in prison.