Ex-New York Teacher Raped Minor, Allegedly Molested Another Former Student

A former high school teacher in New York, who was convicted of raping a minor in October, also allegedly molested a student, a probe revealed.

Tyler Sick, 29, a Tarrytown resident, taught at East Bronx Academy for the Future for 14 months – from September 2016 to November 2017 – till he was charged with statutory rape of a victim under the age of 17 in Westchester County. He was arrested Nov. 11, 2017 for a crime that took place between Dec. 1, 2016 and Jan. 31.

Around the time, he also moonlighted as the assistant wrestling coach in Edgemont High School, Greenville, Westchester County. Investigators did not reveal whether the victim was one of his students.

When one of Sick’s Bronx students became aware of his arrest, she alerted school officials about his inappropriate behavior during gym classes. According to a report by the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI) for city schools, obtained by the New York Post, Sick was fixated on the student’s buttocks during exercises. He was accused of rubbing her buttocks around 80 times while she performed various exercises.

The report found that Sick would touch the student while she did planks – a form of exercise where one holds one’s position facing down, with one’s body in a horizontal line. “Sick regularly placed his hand on her lower back and buttocks, both rubbing and tapping her buttocks, while he told her to ‘go lower,’” the SCI report said.

Sick also allegedly “placed his hand on her buttocks and pushed her into an upward position,” on several occasions. The student felt so violated by the former teacher’s behavior that she stopped attending gym classes. When she opened up about her less-than-pleasant experiences with Sick to a fellow student, her friend admitted that the ex-teacher had touched her inappropriately too.

Following his arrest, Sick was suspended without pay by the New York Department of Education and eventually fired a month later. In July, he pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree rape and was sentenced to 10 years of probation. As part of his plea deal, Sick also had to surrender his teaching license and register as a sex offender both in New York and North Carolina, where he relocated.

In another incident, a Chicago Fire junior soccer team coach was recently fired, following accusations of inappropriately touching and grooming female players for sex. Fernando Calderon, 49, was charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse and indecent solicitation of a minor after he allegedly approached three young girls from the soccer team, urging them to “manipulate” their bodies, in multiple inappropriate interactions between July 2017 and August 2018.

“The coach was suspended and ordered to stay away from our players, staff and facilities. All proper authorities were informed and the parents of our players were notified about the situation. We have since dismissed the coach,” Paul Cadwell, president of Chicago Fire Juniors City, said in a statement.