Andrew james marulis babylon high school, brittany rohl allegations
A woman claims that a Long Island instructor groomed her for sex during her senior year of high school.
According to a viral Instagram post, a 28-year-old woman alleges that her former coach and teacher at a Long Island high school groomed her for sex as a young teen.
Brittany Rohl, who now resides in Florida, claims in the post — which doubled as a letter to the Babylon Board of Education — that she was first targeted at the age of 16 by a former schoolteacher at the town's high school.
"Grooming damages children's capacity to consent as 'adults,'" Rohl noted. "He waited until the week before my 18th birthday to have sex with me, and he went to great lengths to destroy proof later."
The claims come on the heels of another Babylon teacher being fired for various infractions, according to News12 Long Island.
Rohl told the newspaper that she felt obliged to speak out after learning of the removal.
"I want to alleviate some of the embarrassment associated with speaking up for others," she subsequently told The Post.
Rohl, who graduated from the school in 2011, stated that the teacher, who was in his mid-30s at the time, paid extra attention to her in order to earn her trust.
The accused "began isolating me and making me feel special by telling me I was 'overlooked' and that he was the only one who recognized my accomplishments in track and academics," she said.
During her senior year, the teacher awarded Rohl an A- in a class to "avoid suspicion" and "maintain the narrative that the institution was incapable of preparing me for college and that he was the only person capable of ensuring my success," Rohl stated.
Later in her senior year, the teacher advised her that they should "be dating" before becoming more explicit, Rohl alleged.
"He sat me down on the football field bleachers and informed me that he want to take my virginity," she wrote in the article, adding that he desired to wait until she reached the age of 18.
During the week following her 18th birthday in August 2011, Rohl stated that the teacher drove to her residence and they had their first sexual encounter.
"I didn't feel capable of saying no," she explained.
Their interactions continued following her enrollment at Fordham University, according to Rohl's letter to the Babylon school this week.
The teacher observed her social interactions at school attentively and warned her against drinking in case she was "violently raped" by someone.
Rohl stated that the oppressive dynamic had a great emotional toll on her and that she lived in fear of his wife and the rest of their Long Island neighborhood discovering the relationship.
According to her post, their relationship gradually deteriorated but the psychological scars persisted.
"I want to demonstrate the gradual, subtle process of grooming a Babylon High School minor," she wrote.
"This personl is a former employee," a district spokesperson told News12. "As evidence becomes available, we will share it with outside special counsel who will investigate the matter and keep the Board of Education and superintendent informed."