FARMINGTON, Conn. — A former teacher at a prestigious all-girls boarding school who was charged last month with sexually assaulting a student may have had inappropriate conversations with five other teenagers, according to a newly released affidavit.
Joseph Rajkumar, 42, taught physics and coached soccer and track at Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, whose alumnae include Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and Gloria Vanderbilt. Employed at the school since August 2009, he was fired March 4 and charged March 25 with two counts of felony second-degree sexual assault and one count of misdemeanor fourth-degree sexual assault.
Farmington police said the allegations date back to 2010 and involve a now-former student who said that Rajkumar started groping her when she was 15 and that they had sex after she turned 17. The girl told police that she and Rajkumar had sex several times during some weeks, and that they had sex in a closet in his classroom.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit released Tuesday, a guidance counselor at the school learned about sexually inappropriate conversations and text messages between Rajkumar and at least five students ages 15 to 18 and alerted the state Department of Children and Families. Police began investigating March 6, two days after he was fired.
Rajkumar declined to comment after a brief appearance in Hartford Superior Court on Tuesday and hung up the phone when contacted at his Farmington home Wednesday. He has posted $500,000 bail and is due back in court April 22.
Rajkumar told police that he had a sexual relationship with the one girl and sent other students emails that authorities say were sexually inappropriate, the affidavit says. Rajkumar signed a statement for police after confessing to his wife, according to the document.
In a statement Wednesday, Miss Porter’s officials said they fired Rajkumar the same day they learned about his conduct.
“There is no time in which a sexual relationship between a student and a teacher can be considered consensual,” the statement said.
The age of consent in Connecticut is 16, but state law specifically makes it illegal for teachers to have sex with students. Conviction of the crime carries one to 10 years in prison.
School officials also said there is no evidence of sexual activity between Rajkumar and any current student.