Tyler Sick, New York High School Teacher, Charged For Raping Minor

A New York high school teacher was arrested and charged with rape after accusations emerged of him engaging in sexual contact with a minor student.

Tyler Sick, 29, a Tarrytown resident who worked as a teacher as well as assistant wrestling coach at Edgemont High School in Greenburgh, New York, was taken into custody Monday by Greenburgh police's Special Victims Unit, USA Today affiliate Lo Hud reported.

He was charged with third degree rape.

The Greenburgh police are being assisted by Westchester County District Attorney, Children’s Advocacy Center, and Village of Tarrytown police in the investigation.

“These allegations are extremely troubling,” said Education Department spokesman Douglas Cohen. “Mr. Sick was immediately reassigned away from students and was removed from payroll.”

The police have asked other students who might have had inappropriate contact with Sick in the recent past to get in touch with Special Victims Unit Detective Nick Parikka at 914-989-1736.

The specifics of Sick’s case remain hazy as the police have refrained from divulging any details about the case, apart from what he was charged with.

Details regarding Sick’s bail amount varied too. While one media outlets reported his bail amount to be $20,000, another reported it to be much higher at $45,000. Sick is scheduled to appear before the court on Tuesday.

Prior to working at Edgemont High School, he worked as a teacher at the East Bronx Academy for the Future for a year before being suspended, New York Daily News reported. The reason behind the suspension is not known yet.

This is not the first instance of a teacher being charged for raping a minor this month. Hunter Day, a married Oklahoma teacher, was arrested and charged with second-degree rape after allegedly having a sexual relationship with a male student.

Day, who was arrested Nov. 15, had an alleged relationship with a 16-year-old boy at the school where she taught.

After the police started investigating Day, following a complaint lodged by the unnamed victim’s parents, they discovered that the teacher had sent explicit text messages and nude pictures to the minor.

Speaking about the case, Canadian County Sheriff Chris West said: “This is a classic case of a serious breach of public trust. School teachers are entrusted to protect and educate our children, not to engage in an unlawful sexual relationship with them.”

Nevertheless, West added that such incidents do not surprise him anymore, since they were now happening in such overwhelming numbers. “I’m no longer surprised by the people who commit these crimes because predators come from all walks of life,” he said.

The Yukon Public School District, which oversees the management of the high school where Day taught, released a statement following the incident, ensuring students and their families that “the safety and well-being of our students is our number one priority."