Psychologist Arrested Again
An East Hampton Middle School psychologist was arrested on Sunday in Mattituck by Southold Town police and charged with having sexual intercourse and oral sex with a 16-year old boy in Mattituck last year. Diane DeMartini-Scully, who has worked at the school for more than four years, lives in Mattituck with her husband and two children.
She was arraigned on Sunday on third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act charges, both class E felonies, before Southold Town Justice William Price, who set bail at $10,000. Bail was posted on Monday.
Ms. DeMartini-Scully was arrested by police in North Carolina in October on counts of child abduction, giving controlled substances to minors, and child abuse.
She allegedly traveled to Jacksonville, N.C., from Mattituck over Columbus Day weekend to visit the same boy and his 12-year-old sister, took them to her hotel room without their mother’s permission, and gave them marijuana to smoke, Onslow County police said in November.
The children’s family had moved from Mattituck to Onslow County in June. The Onslow County sheriff’s office said in November that the children’s mother alleged that Ms. DeMartini-Scully was having a “sexual relationship” with her son. Such a relationship is not considered a crime in North Carolina, where the age of consent is 16.
The age of consent is 17 in New York, however, which allowed Southold Town police to bring charges against Ms. DeMartini-Scully this week.
Ms. DeMartini-Scully was removed from her position as a school psychologist in October, when East Hampton School District officials learned of her arrest in North Carolina. Since then she has been working on “special assignment” at the district office. Because she was granted tenure by the school district in 2004, she is guaranteed due process rights if the district decides to bring charges in an attempt to fire her.
She has not been to the middle school since she was released on bail on Monday. Raymond Gualtieri, the district superintendent, said this week that he would “speak to her about assignment at the school when she comes back,” although he did not say when he expected her to return to the school.
On Monday, Marisa Katz, a state-certified school psychologist, started work as a leave replacement for Ms. DeMartini-Scully.
“It’s horrible to hear about these allegations toward any person in a school, but it’s especially horrible concerning this position,” Wendy Hall, president of the East Hampton School Board, said yesterday. “I hope this is over as quickly as possible, and we come to some kind of resolution very soon.”
With Reporting by Amanda Angel