N.J. Principal Kissed, Sex-Texted 5 Elementary School Teachers, Report Says

Five female teachers at a New Jersey elementary school say a former principal kissed and sexually harassed them, and then retaliated against them when they rebuffed his advances, according to a report.

The women allege Carlos Lucio, the principal of Antonia Pantoja School No. 27 from 2008 to 2015 in Elizabeth, kissed or attempted to kiss them and repeatedly sent them inappropriate and unwelcome text messages, among other advances, according to a lawsuit published on nj.com.

Lucio also gave one of the teachers unwelcome massages. When the women displayed a lack of interest, Lucio would make unannounced visits to their classrooms, watch them through windows in their classroom doors and institute improvement plans against them, among other retaliatory acts, according to the report.

One of the teachers reported the alleged harassment to the administration in March 2015, according to the report, and the district began an investigation.

Mayor Chris Bollwage announced the principal's departure on Twitter a year ago, in a rather unconventional way.

According to the lawsuit:

• School board personnel announced the teachers' names over the loudspeaker when investigators got involved.
• School security personnel took photos of them on the security system and gave their photos to Lucio.
• Lucio tried to convince the women not speak to investigators, saying his pregnant wife would lose their baby.

The complaint was filed by teachers Jacqueline Gaston, Chalimar Frees, Janine Greco, Dana Malcolm and Danielle Malcolm and they name the Elizabeth Board of Education as a defendant.

In the nj.com report, the defense lawyers, Cherie Adams and Leslie Prentice, denied Lucio created a hostile work environment and said his conduct was "reasonable" and "without malice." The teachers failed to report any harassment to the city school board until March 2015, when the board investigated the complaints, according to the report.

NJSDA photo