Teacher Allegedly Raped 13-Year-Old Student, Attempted Suicide By Jumping Off Highway

A middle school teacher from Bronx, New York, was charged with raping a 13-year-old student, the police said Thursday.

Police sources told the New York Post that Jonathan Pol, 28, an English language arts teacher at the Mott Hall Community School, was accused of meeting the minor after class on May 16 and 22, before driving with her in his blue Kia sedan down to a secluded location nearby. There he allegedly forced himself on the victim.

He was arrested at 3:15 p.m. EDT, Wednesday at Jacobi Medical Center, where he was admitted for a psychiatric observation after he reportedly tried to take his own life the day before. The police found Pol standing on a divider on I-95, threatening to jump. He told the authorities that he had swallowed Tylenol tablets and consumed a bottle of the sleep aid ZzzQuil because he wanted to die. He was found in possession of razor blades and was in a distraught state, the New York Daily News reported.

After he was rescued and checked into the hospital, the police discovered that Pol had rape allegations pending against him.

A spokesperson for the New York Department of Education [DOE] said Pol was “immediately reassigned” away from the classroom when the allegations against him came to light. The victim reportedly disclosed to the assistant principal that she was engaged in a sexual relationship with the teacher. It was not known when they were made aware of the accusations or what the accused’s new post was.

"The safety of students is our top priority, and Mr. Pol was immediately reassigned away from the classroom once we were made aware of these deeply disturbing allegations," the DOE said in a statement.

Pol worked as a substitute teacher at the Arlington, Pawling, Dover, and Webutuck districts, between 2015 and 2017, their superintendents confirmed to USA Today-affiliated Poughkeepsie Journal, Thursday. The students of the Arlington and Pawling school districts were sent a letter regarding the accused’s arrest.

"The district is shocked by the news reported regarding Mr. Pol. In the period of time that Mr. Pol worked as a substitute teacher in the school district he never exhibited any behaviors to suggest that he was capable of the acts that he is alleged to have engaged in while employed as a teacher in the Bronx," said Pawling Superintendent William Ward.