Former NYC prosecutor accused of raping a 13-year-old girl while working as a teacher at a Catholic school
DEBARYLIFE – According to information obtained by The Post, a former municipal prosecutor who is now a religious school teacher faces charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.
In a criminal complaint filed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Daniel Haines, 39, an ex-Bronx and Brooklyn assistant district attorney who taught at Mt. Carmel-Holy Rosary in East Harlem, is also accused of recording their sex on a cell phone and sending her “multiple photos and videos of a sexual nature” via email.
The child was in the seventh and eighth grades when the alleged abuse allegedly occurred “on multiple occasions” between April 18, 2022 and April 7, 2023, according to the lawsuit.
On May 17, he was placed under arrest.
The abuse happened at Mt. Carmel, where Haines worked as a teacher at the time, according to a partially redacted address included in the lawsuit.
According to the allegation, there was a single instance of coerced sexual assault against a desk.
Parents who believe their children “had any type of contact” with Haines are advised to contact the Manhattan DA’s child abuse department at 212-335-4300, according to an email sent by Mt. Carmel principal Trista Rivera.
An official for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, told The Post, “The school has been and will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation into this allegation.”
Parents were confused and worried because Rivera and Zwilling did not confirm that the 13-year-old victim was a student at the school or provide an explanation for Haines’s departure from Mt. Carmel.
According to a spokesperson, Haines was employed at the Bronx District Attorney’s office from 2009 until 2019.
In the rackets bureau, he led the prosecution of significant narcotics and gang cases.
After that, he was employed for a short time by the Brooklyn District Attorney. Oren Yaniv, the spokesman, declined to explain his departure. He made $105,000 in his last job in the city.
Haines then accepted a position at Mt. Carmel, where the typical pay for teachers is $54,768.
He remained until the conclusion of the academic year 2022–2023.
A parent from Mt. Carmel complained to The Post about Haines, the English instructor her kids were taking in grades 6 and 7.
“I thought he was awful, but the principal told me he cares about the kids, or he ignored me,” the woman claimed. After that, he left the school, but he would constantly resurface. It’s merely peculiar.
Haines began working at the Upper West Side Jewish day school Heschel School in September 2023. There, he coached basketball and mock trial in addition to teaching middle grades.
The board president Ben Archibald and the head of school Ariela Dubler wrote a letter to parents recently stating, “All of the alleged misconduct occurred prior to Daniel’s arrival at Heschel.” There are no reports of unlawful or improper behavior within the Heschel community that we are aware of.
According to the letter, Haines was hired following criminal background and reference checks. “We put him on leave and terminated his access to our systems and buildings,” the school said after learning of his arrest.
According to documents, Haines entered a not guilty plea and was freed after posting a $350,000 cash bond.
He did receive a callback for comment from his Legal Aid counsel.