Disgraceful Exit

An NYC teacher who had "non-consensual sex" with a student is exposed as a predator after 28 years in the public-school system.

They caught a predator who taught 28-years in NYC public schools, investigators say.

Lennard Persaud, 51, a math teacher at John Adams High School on Rockaway Boulevard in Queens, had “non-consensual sexual intercourse” with a student multiple times, including in a parking lot at the nearby Resorts World casino, the Special Commissioner of Investigation reports.

“His conduct was not only egregious and dangerous but predatory,” SCI Anastasia Coleman wrote in a Jan. 23, 2025 report to Chancellor Kamar Samuels,

The SCI publicly released the report on July 21, in hopes of making any future employer aware of the findings. Persaud recently left the Department of Education, but maintains his state license to teach math in grades 7 to 12.

The alleged sexual abuse began more than a decade ago – between 2014 and 2016 – when Persaud sent sexually explicit and profane texts to the girl, the report said, citing multiple examples.

In 2014, Persaud invited the student into his car to go get food. Instead, he pulled into an alleyway near a Rite-Aid and forced himself on the girl, who told investigators she “clawed” at Persaud to push him away, and yelled “Stop! Take me home!”

Multiple instances followed in which Persaud assaulted the student, including in the casino parking lot, engaging in vaginal, anal and oral sex with the teen until she left for college in 2016. The report does not explain why she did not report the abuse at the time.

A female classmate recalled that the student told her about the texts from Persaud, and that he “tried to do sexual things” with her. The classmate witnessed her friend’s “breakdowns,” including crying.

A male classmate told investigators the student told him “she was sexually assaulted by Persaud” while they attended John Adams HS. He recalled seeing his friend “crying a lot in school.”

After keeping the allegations secret, the ex-student finally came forward to report the abuse in June 2023. The NYPD charged Persaud with felony rape, criminal sexual acts, endangering the welfare of a child, and sexual abuse, the SCI reports.

But the South Ozone Park resident wound up pleading guilty to disorderly conduct, and faced no jail time.

Persaud, who refused to speak with investigators, “is no longer employed with NYC public schools,” said Chyann Tull, a spokeswoman for the Department of Education. She called his alleged behavior “deeply disturbing, and a profound betrayal of the trust placed in educators.”

The DOE removed Persaud from the classroom in 2023, but he idled on the payroll pending the disciplinary process, collecting $139,000 in 2024-25.

Tull refused to say whether the department terminated Persaud after a hearing, or simply let him resign and walk away without facing charges.

Persaud maintains his New York state teaching license in Grade 7 to 12 mathematics, so he might land another job in a charter, private or non-NYC school. The state Education Department would not say whether it will take steps to revoke his license.

Persaud did not answer a request for comment.