CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL LAY TEACHER CHARGED WITH THE STATUTORY RAPE OF A 16 YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT CARDINAL HAYES HIGH SCHOOL

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson announced last evening that a 34 year-old lay teacher has been charged with engaging in sexual relations with a 16 year-old student at Cardinal Hayes High School.

Detective Investigators from the Bronx District Attorney’s Office arrested Mildred Colon, of 131 Broome Street, Manhattan, after representatives of the Archdiocese of New York notified the Office that the child’s parents had come forward with allegations.

At the time of her arrest, Colon had been charged with three counts of Rape in the 3rd degree, a class "E" felony offense punishable by a maximum sentence of up to four years imprisonment on each count. An additional charge of Endangering the Welfare of a Child has been imposed on the Defendant. Colon was taken into custody after the victim was interviewed and the allegations were reviewed by Assistant District Attorneys assigned to the Domestic Violence / Sex Offense Bureau.

It is alleged in court papers that Colon being twenty years old or more, engaged in sexual intercourse with another person to whom she is not married less than seventeen years old. Colon has been charged with having sexual intercourse with the victim on three separate occasions this year, on April 5th, June 8th and June 14th, at the Capri Motel at 555 Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx, New York.

Colon was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court, this morning. Bail was set at $10,000 cash or $3,500 bond. Colon is expected back in court on October 8, 2002 in Part F.

Assistant District Attorney Paula E. Branca-Santos of the Domestic Violence / Sex Offense Bureau is prosecuting this case.