Original Blog Entry: Ex-sex worker turned teacher charged with conduct unbecoming

truesee — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:50:58 GMT

Education Dept. charges Bronx teacher, ex-sex worker Melissa Petro with conduct 'unbecoming'

Rachel Monahan

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, December 2nd 2010, 4:00 AM

Costanza for NewsMelissa Petro, who admitted in an article that she was a sex worker before becoming a teacher, has been charged with conduct 'unbecoming a teacher' by the Education Department.

Sex worker-turned-teacher Melissa Petro was charged Wednesday with conduct unbecoming a teacher, a city Education Department spokeswoman said.

The mayor chose to remove Petro from her classroom in September after she published an article admitting she'd been paid for sexual services.

Education Department officials declined to explain what grounds they have to fire the tenured art teacher from the Bronx's Public School 70 on the basis of an article she wrote.

Her sex worker career ended before she started teaching, Petro's article says.

Officials also declined to release the investigative documents that might explain the specific charges and refused even to explain why the documents are not public.

Spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz said, On advice of counsel, I am declining to release the report. .

That's an apparent switch in policy.

Less than two weeks ago, when officials announced they wanted to can Brooklyn principal Jonathan Straughn, the agency released a full explanation.

Petro did not return a request for comment.

In her Huffington Post article, Petro defended Craigslist's right to post sex-worker ads, but that's not the only public evidence that she views sex workers as unfairly vilified.

I wouldn't encourage my daughter to be a sex worker. I wouldn't discourage her either. Ultimately, every woman is free to choose. ... she wrote in a blog post.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/12/02/2010-12-02_education_dept_charges_bronx_teacher_exsex_worker_melissa_petro_with_conduct_unb.html#ixzz16x6aDurm

... [ More ]