School Principal Allegedly Groomed Student For Sex, Assaulted Her In Office

A high school principal in New York was accused of grooming a student for sex, before assaulting her in his office, according to a notice of claim – a precursor to a lawsuit – filed Monday.

According to the notice, the victim, Anastasia Stapon, claimed that Riverhead High School principal Charles Regan sent her thousands of explicit texts and photos since January. Then in April, when she was alone in the accused’s office, Stapon claimed that he forcibly tried to hug and kiss her.

Stapon's attorney, John Ray, condemned the accused’s actions during a press conference held in Miller Place, Long Island.

"Anastasia is an 18-year old student and athlete at Riverhead High School. She has been destroyed. Her principal, who had been her mentor, her hero, is in fact just a pervert who used his power over her to ensnare her in his dirty sexual traps. Charles Regan learned that she is an adopted child from Russia who, in her senior year, suffered deep depression and turned to weed and alcohol. She was especially defenseless, a sitting target for a predator,” he said.

He added that Regan deluded her “into complete dependence, isolating her from her family, friends and school counselor” and led her “astray into sexual fantasies” by encouraging her to masturbate and sending her “sexually charged pictures of him undressed, all the while deluding her into the passionate belief that he loved her.”

One of the pictures, allegedly sent to his client by the accused and provided to local media by Ray, reportedly showed Regan naked with just a pink towel draped over his private parts.

Stapon also spoke at the conference, stating how violated she felt by her principal. “I thought he was trying to support me and get me to that better place because that’s what he told me for a very long time,” she said. “And then during my spring break, it got definitely a lot more hot and heavier.”

She added that she was asked to meet Regan at his office during school hours last month. “When I got up to leave, we hugged, and then he brought me in for a kiss, and he held the back of my neck and brought me closer,” Stapon recalled. “When everything was over, I got out of there as fast as I could.”

According to school district Superintendent Aurelia Henriquez, the victim filed a police complaint last week, alleging that she was assaulted inside the principal’s office with the door closed. The case was under investigation and Regan was not arrested yet. The notice of claim sought $10 million in damages, the New York Post reported.

Regan, who is married with two children of his own, “administratively resigned” last month, “pending an investigation into a personnel matter,” Riverhead Central School District announced, April 30. He served as assistant principal at the high school before being named principal in June 2013.

“While we understand that there will be questions surrounding this matter, the district is legally prohibited from sharing further details on it,” the school district said in a statement at the time. “We appreciate your patience as we perform our due diligence regarding this matter.”

The notice of claim also alleged that Regan "had a history as a pervert and child seducer" when he worked for the Eastport South Manor School District. He was also accused of making "homicidal threats" to students who showed an interest in Stapon.