A Bronx teacher accused of raping a 10-year-old student was a no-show in court today, outraging the girl’s family who were hoping to confront him.
Anthony Criscuolo, 40, was in the court building but did not appear before a judge during a hearing on whether he would testify before a grand jury.
“He’s a dog. He’s a coward,” said the victim’s aunt, Lourdes Murphy, 37. “He has to show up. We were expecting that he had to show his face in front of everybody.”
But Criscuolo took the easy way out, exercising his right to stay away.
According to a criminal complaint, the P.S. 386 teacher sexually assaulted the little girl at least three times between April and June.
Prosecutors said the assaults happened twice at the elementary school, and a third time in his car after he drove the student to an area near P.S. 196.
Criscuolo had told the child’s parents he was escorting her to receive an award at a school ceremony last week — but instead he drove her to a school parking lot on Ward Avenue and raped her, cops say.
During one of the alleged attacks, Criscuolo kissed the girl on the mouth, unbuckled her belt, then told her, “I like you,” according to the complaint.
A day after the last assault, Criscuolo sent the Fordham Heights fifth-grader a sickening “I was too rough. Sorry. It’s normal,” he wrote.
“You may feel pain for a few days,” he added.
Then he asked, “How did it feel for you?”
When the girl’s mother found sexually explicit e-mails, she alerted police.
“He doesn’t deserve to live,” said another aunt, Nancy Reyes.
Murphy said the victim is still in shock.
“She can’t talk right now,” Murphy said.. “She’s very quiet. She has no communication with anybody.
“He manipulated her. He did what he wanted with her and nobody knew anything. I wish I could throw a stone at his face.”