A controversial Manhattan high school principal has quit in the wake of a complaint that he pressed his groin against a teacher at a staff holiday party, officials confirmed.
The resignation of Derek Premo, principal of the Lower Manhattan Arts Academy, comes six months after the sex-harassment accusation was filed against him.
It was the second time Premo, 47, was accused of misconduct. He was previously accused of touching a student inappropriately at Life Sciences Secondary School on the Upper East Side, where he used to work. Officials said that complaint was unsubstantiated.
At LOMA, special-ed teacher John Colin filed a complaint against Premo last year with the state Division of Human Rights.
Premo approached Colin and two female teachers at a Lower East Side tavern, during the December 2019 staff party, and pressed against Colin’s leg for 20-minutes, his complaint states.
“It was very uncomfortable because I could feel his penis on my leg, and he was leaning his face very close to mine,” Colin stated. “Then he started telling me about how he and his husband liked to have parties,” while “looking directly into my eyes.”
The state case is pending, the DOE said Friday.
Premo’s leadership brought more turmoil when he let teacher Gabriel Mitey continue teaching after posting a nearly nude selfie online and a male student accused Mitey of sexually harassing him during his senior year.
LOMA students held a sit-in in November to demand Mitey’s removal. The DOE “reassigned” him on Dec. 14, but he remains on the city payroll.
Manhattan HS superintendent Vivien Orlen sent an email to families on Wednesday, saying Premo, who earned $183,854 last year, had resigned. He was on a leave since Thanksgiving.
Orlen praised Premo, saying he increased the graduation rate and “went above and beyond” during the pandemic. “I know many of you will miss him,” Orlen said.
A DOE substitute principal, Daisy Fontanez, will continue serving as interim principal, Orlen said.
There are still many answers that are being sought in this case.
Such as: Why did the victim allow him to press against her for 20 minutes (that’s a long time)? Why did no one see red flags when he allowed the teacher to get away with the picture incident? Obviously the school board should have questioned his work ethics at that point.
SICK!!!!
He pressed against a MALE (John Colin) according to the article 🤷🏾♂️….for 20 minutes w/o getting knocked unconscious in 30 seconds seems he was considering the advance