QUEENS, N.Y. — A volunteer who was dismissed from a Catholic school for making inappropriate contact with a student was later discovered to be a sex offender. He had also volunteered at three other schools.
Joseph Denice was fired on Jan. 7 when the parents of a student he had contacted over Facebook alerted St. Mel’s School to his actions, which were against school policy. Denice also volunteered at St. Kevin School in Flushing and St. Luke’s in Whitestone, where he was let go after parents became uncomfortable with the level of familiarity he had with students, NY 1 reports.
Denice had been previously convicted of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy from IS 25 in Auburndale, for which he spent six month in jail.
Officials are looking into whether Denice violated his probation while volunteering at the schools. Within in the next two weeks, children who had contact with Denice will be directed to support services.
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