Student Says LI Principal Sexually Assaulted Her in His Office

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead principal sent thousands of "sexually charged" texts, as well as half-naked photos, to a student, before he sexually assaulted her in his office, an explosive lawsuit unveiled Monday states.

According to a notice of claim filed on May 6, high school senior Anastasia Stapon, from January until the present, was sent thousands of explicit texts and photos by Riverhead High School Principal Charles Regan.

"Anastasia is an 18-year old student and athlete at Riverhead High School. She has been destroyed. Her principal, who had been her mentor, her hero, is in fact just a pervert who used his power over her to ensnare her in his dirty sexual traps," a statement by Stapon's attorney John Ray of Miller Place said. "Charles Regan learned that she is an adopted child from Russia who, in her senior year, suffered deep depression and turned to weed and alcohol. She was especially defenseless, a sitting target for a predator."

According to Ray, "pretending to counsel her, sexual deviant Regan deluded her into complete dependence, isolating her from her family, friends and school counselor," moving her sister out of the district to Sagamore. "He led Anastasia astray into sexual fantasies. . urging her to have sex with him," Ray said. "He sent her sexually charged pictures of him undressed, all the while deluding her into the passionate belief that he loved her. . .Then he sexually assaulted her in his office during school. He pulled her by the neck into his embrace and shoved his tongue into her mouth."

The suit against Regan, the district, the superintendent and the board of education, is seeking damages of $10 million.

"I thought he was trying to support me and get me to that better place because that’s what he told me for a very long time," Stapon said of Regan during a press conference Monday, according to a New York Post report. "And then during my spring break, it got definitely a lot more hot and heavier."

The notice of claim also alleges that Regan, 48, had a history "as a pervert and child seducer" in his former position at the Eastport South Manor School District — and made "homicidal threats" to students who showed an interest in Stapon.

"He’s a sexual predator; he groomed this little girl," Ray said. "This guy saw a mark in her because she was depressed and he pretended he was going to help her but in reality he used it to groom her for sexual perversion."

Ray shared numerous sexually explicit texts and photos of Regan, shown half-clothed, one with just a pink towel draped over himself, with Patch.

Regan, Ray added, sent thousands of texts to the teen in a single month and used to meet with her in his office daily "in 45-minute clips. He made her very co-dependent," he said.

Regan, who is married with two children, has been "administratively reassigned," Riverhead Superintendent Aurelia Henriquez said in a statement on the district's website.

"Mr. Regan will not be at the high school pending the investigation. In the interim, Assistant Principal Sean O’Hara will serve as acting principal," the statement says.

Henriquez said the district is "prohibited from sharing further details" on the allegations made against Regan, who makes $187,693 a year as principal.

Although Riverhead Town Police Chief David Hegermiller could not immediately be reached for comment, he told multiple media outlets Monday that the matter was under investigation.

An attorney for Regan could not be reached for comment.