UPDATED: Port Washington Substitute Teacher Arrested on Sex Abuse Charges

Updated at 5:13 p.m. with statement from Dr. Kathleen Mooney:

PORT WASHINGTON, NY- A Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School substitute teacher faces sex abuse charges for incidents that occurred in late January, Port Washington Police told Patch.

James Servin, 51, of New York City, who has served as a substitute teacher for the Port Washington School District for six years, is accused of inappropriately touching two female students on school grounds, News 12 reports.

Authorities arrested Servin on Thursday and charged him with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, forcible touching and second degree sex abuse.

Patch reached out to the district’s superintendent, Dr. Kathleen Mooney, who released the following statement:

The District has learned that a substitute teacher at Carrie Palmer Weber Middle School has been arrested based on allegations of inappropriate behavior with students. The District takes these allegations very seriously as the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority.

Accordingly, as is our policy in situations such as this, our immediate first step was to remove the teacher from the classroom to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. We also notified the Port Washington Police Department so that they could conduct an investigation as rapidly as possible.

We are cooperating fully with law enforcement authorities and ask that members of the media contact police representatives for any specific comment regarding the criminal complaint.

Servin no longer works for the district following these reported incidents, according to News 12.

Servin will be arranged Friday in First District Court.

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