Ex-Babylon Students: BOE Hoped They'd 'Move On' From Sex Abuse Claims

BABYLON, NY — Several Babylon High School alumni are speaking out about the district's attempts to fire two teachers accused of sexual abuse, saying that the board wanted them to "move on" after dozens cried out, sharing painful stories of shattered trust and wrongdoing.

At a board of education meeting last week, interim superintendent Brian L. Conboy said that after an internal investigation, the teachers — who were tenured and placed on leave in November 2021 — must undergo the state-mandated disciplinary process in order to be terminated.

"We understand, we can't undo what's been done," Conboy said at the meeting. "And we're not going to minimize it. We're not going to ignore it. It's part of what we need to address going forward."

The teachers were accused at a November 2021 board meeting, where numerous current students and alumni spoke, saying out loud, for the first time, the names of numerous teachers they said had committed alleged sexual and emotional abuse.

Carolyn El Serafi, co-organizer and co-founder of Babylon alumni advocate group Babylon Alumni and Allies For Change, told Patch she wasn't aware of any ongoing internal investigation, and that the board's announcement came as a surprise.

In a recent Newsday report, documents showed that the district employed special education teacher Barry Goldsholle long after he received more than 20 complaints from parents and students.

El Serafi said it weren't for the Newsday report, she believes the district would not have made efforts to take action about the teachers.

"We have no evidence that any additional allegations were made against these teachers," said El Serafi. "So what that means is that they sat on allegations for almost a year before doing anything. And that's really disappointing. It's tragically emblematic of the way the administration has operated."

Brittany Rohl, Class of 2011, who said she was groomed and both sexually and emotionally abused by a former teacher, told Patch in an email that the teachers' proceedings are just the tip of the iceberg of injustices within the school.

"The depth and scope of the violence against vulnerable people committed by Babylon School District is still only beginning to come to light," she said.

Rohl was the first out of dozens of alumni to come forward with her allegations.

These accusations inspired one alumnus to come forward, claiming she was raped by teacher Timothy Harrison while she was a student. Harrison was arrested and charged in March 2022.

Attorney General Letitia James also launched an investigation into the district in November 2021.

At the November 2021 meeting, Rohl, other alumni and community members claimed that school administrators knew of the sexual and abuse, but did nothing.

"Hauntingly, beyond the actual acts of abuse, I have no doubt that nearly everyone employed in the building was aware of ongoing abuse and chose not to act to protect students," said Rohl. "I truly don't know how they can look themselves in the mirror, let alone continue to show up and face students every day."

Rohl continued to say that she hopes legal and journalism professionals involved take "ethical responsibilities to these children seriously" and to "get to the bottom" of these accusations.

"If I didn't defy the board's threat of defamation and speak those names aloud at the board meeting last year, how many of these teachers would still be operating unchecked in classrooms?" she said. "How many more children would be knowingly sacrificed?"

In the past year, the board has involved the advocate group in the creation of the Policy 9150, or "School District Adult-Student Relations." The district also created a Citizens Advisory Committee, for which the advocate group "persistently" and "repeatedly asked over and over" for.

Darcy Bennet, co-organizer and co-founder of the alumni advocate group, is currently on the committee.

However, El Serafi said after these measures were put into place, the board wanted the group to "move on."

El Serafi and other alumni wished to contribute to the district's sexual harassment policy, she said, but they were not asked to contribute.

"The fraternization policy (Policy 9150) was essentially like an annex to the sexual harassment policy — we revised it in that way, with the intention of having an opportunity to really put stronger language and processes in place through the sexual harassment policies," she said. "We were not invited to the table."

The board's recent actions, she said, are contradictory.

"On the one hand, you're telling us this is old news, and you did what needed to be done and you took care of it," she told Patch. "But then a Newsday report comes out that makes it look as bad as it is — as bad as everyone knew it was. And now you are taking action so that it looks like you're taking action. Not because you believed you needed to do anything."

In a statement, Board of Education President Carol Dell'Erba told Patch: “As we have told the community, this board and administration find the alleged behavior ascribed to these individuals by multiple former students truly despicable," she said.

She continued to say that the board has taken every action to prevent any abuse from happening within schools.

"We have made a commitment to take every step possible under the fullest extent of the law to protect our students and let them know that they can feel safe in our buildings," Dell'Erba said. "As part of that commitment, we decided to move forward with 3020a proceedings against these individuals. They will remain suspended with pay and denied access to all district properties and buildings until this process has concluded."

El Safari told Patch that the board is sharing information that is legally required of them. However, their lack of transparency — on top of the teachers receiving a taxpayer salary for the past year — is frustrating, she maintained.

"Maybe that’s the law, but that’s not justice," El Safari said.