A Bronx middle school teacher is suspected of raping a 13-year-old student and then attempting suicide by threatening to jump off a highway on the same day the alleged crime was reported to cops, police sources told The Post.
Jonathan Pol, 28, a teacher at the Mott Hall Community School, allegedly met the young student after class in his blue Kia sedan on May 16 and May 22, and then drove to a secluded location near Clarence and Randall avenues and forced himself on her, the sources said.
A spokesperson for the city Department of Education said Pol was “immediately reassigned” away from the classroom when it heard about the “deeply disturbing allegations” — but did not elaborate on when it found out or where Pol was moved.
On Tuesday around 7:30 p.m., Pol was discovered on the southbound lane of I-95 near the Connor Street exit in Eastchester standing on a divider and threatening to jump off, sources said.
“He stated he wanted to die. He stated that he drank a bottle of ZzzQuil and took a bottle of Tylenol,” a police source said.
The alleged assaults were reported to police later that night, at 9 p.m., sources said.
Pol was admitted to Jacobi Hospital, where he remains on suicide watch, sources said.
Once he’s deemed medically and psychologically fit, cops will go to the hospital to apprehend him and charge him, police sources said.
An eighth-grader at the school, who was with her parent, told The Post Wednesday afternoon that Pol often hung out with her female friends, some of whom were on the volleyball team.
Nick Katechis, 55, who was picking up his granddaughters, called the alleged actions “sickening.”
“Jesus Christ. I have all girls,” Katechis said. “It’s unbelievable. Normal people wouldn’t do that.”
Pol previously worked at schools in the Hudson Valley in 2016 and 2017 including Pawling Central Schools, Arlington Central Schools, Dover Union Free Schools, Beacon City School District, and Webutuck Central Schools, according to SeeThrough NY.
Additional reporting by Richard Harbus and Selim Algar
