Longtime NYC principal ‘Creepy Invoice’ groped 17-year-old scholar, employees, turned college into ‘sexual playground:’ swimsuit
A longtime New York Metropolis principal — not too long ago arrested for allegedly fondling two academics — is going through recent claims that he turned his public college right into a “sexual playground” and as soon as groped a teen scholar, in keeping with a brand new bombshell lawsuit.
William Bassell, 66, principal on the Academy of American Research in Queens since 2011, is accused of sexually harassing the 17-year-old in addition to three ladies working at the highschool of their federal swimsuit.
“Whereas Bassell has been treating a New York Metropolis highschool as his private playground for sexual achievement, he has loved the strong protections of the DOE,” states the swimsuit, referring to the town Division of Training.
“With the advantage of the DOE’s deliberate indifference, Bassell — extensively often called ‘Creepy Invoice,’ ‘Creepy Bassell,’ or just ‘Creep’ by college students and college members on the Academy — has, for greater than a decade, focused feminine workers and at the least one feminine scholar, singling them out for unlawful touching, texting, and commentary.”
Bassell was positioned on depart from his longtime position on the Astoria college after he was arrested in Could on fees of intercourse abuse and forcible touching — however stays employed by the town as a principal, the swimsuit claims. His wage was a whopping $204,305 final 12 months, public data present.
Bassell’s “litany of sexually harassing acts” included groping ladies’s inside thighs, asking about their intercourse lives, “together with questions on their virginity and masturbation,” frequent references to ejaculation and oral intercourse and overtly observing ladies — “particularly their breasts and buttocks.”
The swimsuit additionally claims Bassell took a wicked curiosity within the sexual proclivities of his college students, commenting on which ones he suspected of performing sexual acts collectively.
“The one cause [student X] comes to high school is as a result of [student Y] sucks his d–okay,” Bassell allegedly as soon as instructed a bunch of feminine workers, the swimsuit claims.
Regardless of years of complaints from workers and college students to these overseeing the DOE, “they had been both stonewalled or intimidated into silence,” the swimsuit claims.
Metropolis and DOE officers didn’t instantly return a request for remark Monday. Makes an attempt to achieve Bassell had been unsuccessful.
The 4 ladies who filed the swimsuit, utilizing their full names within the authorized submitting, are present DOE workers, together with former scholar Khiabet Leal.
Throughout a category journey to the Metropolitan Opera in February 2015, the swimsuit claims Bassell allegedly groped and rubbed the then-17-year-old Leal’s inside thigh “for a number of moments,” instantly touching her pores and skin below her skirt.
She instructed academics in regards to the horrifying alleged incident a 12 months later, and the educators reported it to the DOE, in keeping with the swimsuit.
However DOE investigators allegedly tried to intimidate the teenager to maintain quiet, questioning her about her account with out different adults current.
“Isn’t he writing you a advice letter for faculty?” the investigators allegedly requested, in keeping with the swimsuit.
When Bassell’s Could arrest grew to become public, former academics reached out to Leal and “expressed deep remorse for not doing extra to guard her when she was in highschool,” the submitting states.
One other plaintiff, social employee Tara Murphy, claimed Bassell allegedly groped her whereas additionally repeatedly subjecting her to sexual feedback and requests for disgusting gossip on scholar intercourse lives — whereas providing his unsolicited pondering on the subject.
In a single alleged encounter in 2024, Murphy stated Bassell started rubbing her again inside her workplace, touching her bra, and introduced “his lips as much as her ear” to repeat the identify of a soup he wished to order from a Chinese language restaurant, in keeping with the swimsuit.
“Murphy froze, terrified and disgusted by Bassell’s conduct,” the submitting states. “She may really feel his lips on her ear as he repeated ‘suck me yum.’”
Afterward, she collapsed to the ground, “hyperventilating and sobbing,” in keeping with the criticism.
Bassell additionally as soon as allegedly claimed {that a} woman attending the college had agreed to carry out oral intercourse on one other scholar, and that one other had “carried out a sexual act in a espresso store toilet,” and requested Murphy if she had ever carried out something related, the swimsuit claims.
When Murphy went to the United Federation of Academics union for assist, she was cryptically warned by unnamed officers that Bassell, who joined the DOE 40 years in the past, was “Teflon Don,” as a result of “nothing sticks to him,” the swimsuit alleges.
The UFT, which isn’t named as a plaintiff within the swimsuit, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Related claims towards Bassell had been made in 2020 by an nameless Instagram account referred to as “AAS Takes a Stand,” the swimsuit notes, with at the least one submit claiming to have witnessed the principal’s alleged inappropriate remedy of feminine employees.
One submit, allegedly by a scholar, claimed he “would actually name me out of sophistication to speak to me, simply to rub my arms and thighs for 30 min,” an allegation additionally made by Leal within the lawsuit.
“I signify plenty of sexual harassment victims,” stated legal professional for the ladies, Amy Robinson, “however there should not many instances the place the accused is so properly protected.”
Bassell’s subsequent look in his ongoing prison case in Queens courtroom is about for Thursday, the primary day of public college.
— Further reporting by Amanda Woods and Reuven Fenton
