A Brooklyn all-boys Catholic school teacher has been fired for alleged "inappropriate" conduct with a student a decade ago. Joseph Appel, 33, had been dean of the Xaverian High School's honors program and its drama director. Officials told students about his dismissal at an assembly earlier this week: "They told us he did something inappropriate with a student 10 years ago," said one student at the Bay Ridge school.
Appel, who graduated from Xaverian in 1995, began working there as a teacher in 2001 after graduating from Seton Hall University, the same year the alleged misconduct occurred. Students and alums told the Post that Appel was well-liked, and they never suspected any shenanigans between him and the boys. A source also told the Post that Xaverian used a private investigator they retain to look into the allegations, and found them credible. "We took swift action. We consider it our fundamental responsibility to protect each of our students," said Xaverian President Robert Alesi. You can see the statute of limitations on sexual offense crimes for NY state here.
