Published: May 12, 2008 10:11 pm      

COURTS: Accused Falls teacher’s hearing delayed

Defense engaged in “discussions” with prosecutors

The attorney for a Niagara Falls High School teacher accused of engaging “in an intimate relationship” with a 16-year old female student, was given another delay for a pretrial hearing on the case Monday.

Defense attorney James Faso said he has received some “discovery material” from prosecutors, but is still engaged in “discussions” about the case. The hearing has now been pushed back to May 20.

Paul Chiarella, 38, 943 Rankine Road, faces charges of third-degree sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with a series of incidents involving the student, who is a junior at the high school. Chiarella, who has taught in the Falls school district for eight years, is currently free on $1,000 bail bond and is suspended from his job with pay.

School district officials have begun efforts to dismiss him from his position.

Faso said he has received a videotape taken from surveillance cameras at the high school, but has not yet had a chance to review the tape and could not comment on what it showed. It’s believed the tape may show the movements of Chiarella and the female student during times when investigators said the pair had intimate contact.

However, sources close to the case said it’s not clear that the tape shows anything involving Chiarella and the student.

Chiarella was arrested on Feb. 26 after Falls police investigators said they had evidence that the he befriended the student and on several occasions “kissed her on the mouth and neck.” He also reportedly allowed the student to “skip class” and hang out in his classroom.

The encounters between the teacher and student occurred “in a secured stage dressing room” at the high school, usually during the last period of the school day.

The relationship began in September, when the student enrolled in Chiarella’s media production class. The student told detectives Chiarella was a very “laid back teacher” and she said lots of students had his cell phone number and e-mail address.

In addition to their contact at school, Chiarella and the student also engaged in extensive online conversations. The teen’s mother said she became aware that her daughter and a teacher she knew only as “Mr. C” were having late-evening chats on a home computer and became concerned.

The mother said she went to the high school in November and confronted Chiarella and told him to “step back” from his relationship with her daughter. She said the “time frame” (late evening, outside of school) was “inappropriate for teacher/student conversation.”

After warning Chiarella to “cease and desist” in his behavior, the mother told him if he didn’t she would take her concerns to school officials.

The victim, who was not immediately aware of her mother’s contact with Chiarella, said the relationship continued over the winter recess. She said Chiarella brought her Christmas presents and took her to a movie at an Orchard Park theater complex.

The teacher also told her he wanted “to pursue a relationship past my graduation and to the point of having children with me.” The teen said she began to feel “overwhelmed” by the relationship and said she “realized what we were doing was wrong.”

Chiarella told her, “He agreed that it was wrong, but it didn’t feel wrong.” She said he told her he expected they would “get caught” and he would “kill himself.”

The full relationship was finally discovered by the mother in early February, when the her daughter confessed the details to her. At that point, the mother contacted district officials.