« Baptist High School Teacher Sentenced for Sex With Student | Main | Tara Grinstead: There is now a $20,000 reward »
October 29, 2005
Educator Accused Of Abuse
It’s the stuff “Jerry Springer” shows are made of — a 44-year-old woman in an alleged affair with a teenage boy who dated her daughter. The case against Diane DeMartini-Scully is more harrowing than typical trash talk show fare, however. She’s the psychologist at East Hampton Middle School, charged with ministering to the emotional needs of children.
Last week she was charged with kidnapping and giving kids pot. Last Thursday the Mattituck resident was arrested in Onslow County, North Carolina.
Cops say that over Columbus Day weekend Scully traveled to North Carolina and invited two children, a 17-year-old boy and his 12-year-old sister to the Jacksonville hotel where she was staying, advising the kids not to tell their mother. There, according to the Sheriff’s report, “the arrestee provided marijuana to [the victims] . . . and they smoked it.”
According to Detective David Morrison, the childrens’ mother suspected Scully was engaged in a sexual relationship with her son. Scully met him when he began dating her daughter about two years ago. Both families were living on the North Fork at the time. Acting on her suspicions, the boy’s mother allegedly told Scully to stay away from her children. “A month later she’s down here,” Morrison reported. He said the affair was the motivation for the Columbus weekend trip.
Scully faces felony counts of kidnapping and providing drugs to minors and a misdemeanor count of child abuse. No charges relating to the alleged sexual relationship were filed because in North Carolina the age of consent is 16.
It’s not here in New York, which could mean trouble for Scully. According to New York State education law, whether an action is a crime in the state where a teacher works is what counts in any investigation into ethical or moral code violations. Since having sex with a teen that young is a criminal offense in New York, Scully could lose her license. The victim is 17 now, but it was suggested the affair dates back before his most recent birthday.
Last Friday district superintendent Dr. Raymond Gualtieri reported Scully has been placed on “special assignment” with the district. “We removed her from the building while the investigation is going on in North Carolina and will wait for authorities to inform us of the outcome,” he said.
Special assignment entails desk duty at the central office, away from students. As of last week, Scully was on unpaid leave. Her current position includes counseling kids one on one, testing them, and running therapy groups. She’s been with the district about four and a half years, Gualtieri said.
Scully was arraigned last Thursday and released on $25,000 bond. City editor Andrew deGrandpre of the Daily News of Jacksonville told The Independent last Friday that the kids were back with their mother and fine.
And as for the local children who were under Scully’s care? The school board is attempting to hire a temporary replacement immediately, president Wendy Hall informed. She said she’d never heard of any problems with Scully’s performance before, adding, “This is unfortunate.” However, according to sources, there have been concerns about absenteeism in the past year.
Posted by Nealus at October 29, 2005 02:55 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
