A Queens principal charged with sexually harassing and groping two staffers has reached a deal with prosecutors that will let him walk away without criminal charges on his record, outraging some of his accusers.
Principal William Bassell’s behavior was so widely known at the Academy of American Studies that colleagues nicknamed him “Creepy Bill,” according to a lawsuit.
On Thursday, Bassell agreed to a deal with the Queens District Attorney’s office that charges of sexual abuse and forcible touching will be dropped if he resigns and completes a sex offender treatment program.
Queens DA spokesperson Brendan Brosh said prosecutors had agreed to the deal after a review of the facts and conversations with the alleged victims. “If the defendant fails to complete the required treatment in full, he will face trial. We thank the complainants for coming forward, which allowed for the just resolution of this case,” Brosh said.
Bassell’s attorney declined to comment.
Bassell still faces a civil lawsuit brought by five women — including a student — who allege he used his position “to sexually harass, degrade, and assault female staff and students” for more than a decade.
Former student Khiabet Leal alleged Bassell sexually assaulted her during a field trip to the Metropolitan Opera when she was just 16, a junior.
She had a migraine and left the theater to sit in the lobby, the lawsuit says, when Bassell sat beside her, reached under her skirt, and groped her thigh for several minutes. According to the lawsuit, Leal reported the incident to teachers and a counselor, who reported it to a “DOE office,” according to the lawsuit, but nothing appeared to come of an investigation.
Leal said she hopes Bassell is stripped of his pension.
“While I am grateful that the defendant is required to resign from the DOE… the idea that NYC taxpayers would foot the bill for Bassell’s pension makes my blood boil,” she said.
Representatives of the union, the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), did not respond to questions about the status of Bassell’s pension. The Daily News covered Bassell’s case on Saturday.
The Academy of American Studies is a large high school serving approximately 1,200 students in Long Island City. Bassell had served as principal there for 15 years, and according to the lawsuit, was one of the public school system’s longest-serving principals.
The civil lawsuit alleges Leal and other women, including an assistant principal, school social worker and counselor, said they made complaints to the education department and their unions starting more than a decade ago, but Bassell was allowed to remain in his position. The lawsuit said subsequent allegations emerged in Instagram posts from an account called “AAS Take A Stand” during the pandemic.
Last May, Leslie Kohn, a former assistant principal at the school, reported Bassell to the police, prompting his arrest and removal from his post at the school.
Kohn said in the lawsuit that Bassell groped her weekly for a year, and subjected her to a barrage of sexually explicit text messages that “ranged from inappropriate to pornographic.” Kohn said the harassment caused her severe anxiety, forcing her to leave her position.
Education department spokesperson Chyann Tull said the “alleged behavior is reprehensible and wholly unacceptable.” She said Bassell was “immediately removed from students upon learning of these allegations.”
“Bassell’s removal from the Academy of American Studies and the DOE at large is an important and long overdue first step towards accountability and healing,” said Amy Robinson, attorney for the plaintiffs in the civil suit. “We’re going to continue to pursue justice in our civil case.”
