A Long Island high school teacher was arrested and charged with raping a 16-year-old girl over the course of four months when she was his student, police said Wednesday.
William Sperl, 60, was hit with four counts of rape in the third degree and seven counts of criminal sex acts in the third degree, all felonies, over the disturbing encounters that allegedly occurred from June 2020 to October 2020, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Sperl, an audio production teacher at the Riverhead campus of trade school Eastern Suffolk BOCES, was arrested just after noon Tuesday during a professional development activity at the Bellport campus.
He’s accused of sexually abusing the teen while she was a junior at the school, including on the school’s Riverhead campus, at his Deer Park home, on beaches and even in a bus, according to court documents and police.
Sperl ignored reporters’ questions as he was led out of Suffolk County’s Third Precinct on Wednesday.
At his arraignment, a Suffolk County judge set cash bail at $200,000. His next court date is set for Sept. 1.
Sperl was placed on home assignment while the new school year starts next week, Eastern Suffolk BOCES superintendent David Wicks said in a statement.
“Eastern Suffolk BOCES has taken immediate measures to mitigate any disruption or distraction at the start of the school year next week,” Wicks said.
“Among other things, the teacher will be placed on home assignment and all classes will move forward with qualified BOCES instructors to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted start of the school year for all students.”
The alleged pedophile owns his own recording studio and was described as an expert audio educator who “walks the walk” in a career exploration page for a summer program on the school’s website.
“Most high school programs do not have the quality of equipment we have,” the alleged creep boasted about the school.
“Students in the Academy get to work with equipment they would work with in a professional audio production studio,” Sperl continued.
“I hope to see these students in my class when they are in the 11th and 12th grade.”
