The Wednesday arrest of Alan Schaefer, 43, was most unusual, police said, because most men who meet underage girls try to be as discreet as possible.
But Schaefer showed up with his 14-month-old son, even though he and the girl - a young-looking vice detective dressed as a teenager - he met on the Internet had already agreed they would have sex at her place, police said.
Holding his son in one arm, Schaeffer took the undercover officer’s hand with his other hand and strolled down the street toward her “apartment,” police said. Instead, back-up police moved in and Schaefer was arrested. His son was placed with family.
Schaefer was charged with attempted sexual abuse, the attempted dissemination of indecent materials, endangering the welfare of a child, his son, and attempted endangering the welfare of a child, the officer, whom he believed to be underage.
Schaefer joined the school system in 1983 as a substitute and became a full-time teacher a year later. He has taught music at Louis Pasteur Middle School 67 in Little Neck since 1986. He is not teaching summer school, according to the Department of Education.
When school starts in September, Schaefer, who has tenure, will be assigned to an administrative post, away from children, pending the outcome of the investigation, the department said.
Police said Schaefer and the detective met in an America Online chat room on July 7, then continued their Internet relationship for nearly two weeks, during which time he revealed his sexual desires. They agreed to have sex in the Village Wednesday night after meeting on the street, the first time they communicated in person, police said.
As news of the arrest made its way to Kew Gardens apartment complex where Schaefer lives, neighbors reacted with disgust.
Marie Lynch, 52, said she last saw Schaefer leaving his apartment - his baby in a stroller - at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, 75 minutes before his arrest. “He’s a school teacher - he handles children,” Lynch said. “If it’s true, it’s a disturbing trend.”
From Newsday.
