cover 1999-2002 - SCI

The sexual abuse victim, now 38-years-old, explained that her mother began
dating Lasher in 1975, after she met him at a parent/teacher conference when the girl’s
brother was in Lasher’s class. The next year, the victim entered the school and also had
Lasher as a teacher. At the end of that school year, Lasher offered the girl a ride home
and took her to an apartment where he was doing work. When they got in the elevator,
Lasher pushed the stop button and told the student that he had not given her a birthday
present yet. Lasher handed her a wooden box containing two marijuana cigarettes,
rolling paper, and a “roach clip.” Lasher then kissed the girl on the lips and placed his
tongue in her mouth. According to the former student, the kiss lasted about a minute and
then they went to the apartment where the teacher kissed her again.
Lasher’s conduct continued into the next school year; in fact, Lasher initiated
sexual encounters throughout the fall and winter of 1977-1978. It also escalated to
touching and, eventually, oral sex. The last encounter with Lasher occurred in the spring
of 1978. After school, Lasher took the girl to his parent’s apartment in the Bronx while
they were away on vacation. Lasher kissed the student, performed oral sex on her,
inserted his fingers in her vagina, and had intercourse with her.
During an interview with investigators, Lasher admitted, both verbally and in
writing, to committing sexual acts with the former student when she was a student at MS
141. He acknowledged having sexual intercourse with her two or three times, but did not
recall ever having oral sex with her. The teacher explained that they would park in his
car and “neck,” which progressed into petting and touching, and then escalated to sex.
Lasher had no recollection of kissing any other student or smoking marijuana with any of
the students. However, he admitted that he smoked marijuana with the former student’s
mother.
Recommendations and Results
We recommended that Alan Lasher be terminated from his position and that he be
barred from future employment with the BOE.
Within days of the release of our findings, Lasher retired and was made ineligible
for future employment.
56