Teacher, 63, accused of sexually assaulting girl, 14
A long-time Greece Central School District elementary teacher has been arrested on charges that he sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl.
Barry P. Morris, 63, was charged July 31 with first-degree criminal sexual act, a felony formerly known as sodomy.
Morris pleaded not guilty before Greece Town Justice Gino Nitti, who ordered him held in Monroe County Jail in lieu of $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond.
Morris has since made bail and was released.
His case is pending before a grand jury, said Assistant District Attorney Grace Carducci.
Morris and the victim knew each other, but Greece School Superintendent Steve Achramovitch said the alleged incident was not related to Morris’ teaching position.
Morris has been placed on paid administrative leave, Achramovitch said.
If convicted, Morris faces a prison term ranging from five years to 25 years.
Morris, a fourth-grade teacher, has been a teacher for 35 years and has taught for 19 years at West Ridge Elementary School, according to the school’s Web site.
He has been a nominee for the Golden Apple Teacher of the Year Award given annually by the Greece Teachers Association.
Morris is the second Greece teacher to be arrested in the past year for alleged sexual assaults involving children.
Jeffrey A. Hoffman, 28, is charged with having sexual contact with a female student younger than 17 from March 2007 to November 2008.
Hoffman taught music at Craig Hill and Pine Brook elementary schools and was head of the district’s Blue Knights Marching Band. The girl participated in the music program.
Hoffman faces 10 to 20 years behind bars, if convicted.
School officials have suspended him without pay and filed disciplinary charges against him.
