Yesterday morning the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office announced that 67-year-old Apparao Sunkara, a science teacher at Infinity Institute in New Jersey, had been arrested Tuesday afternoon at his home in Hicksville, New York, and charged in relation to the sexual assault of an 11-year-old student.
Sunkara is charged with second-degree sexual assault and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He is currently in custody in the Nassau County Correctional Center awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
The student, now 12, told investigators that the assaults had taken place at the school in 2019.
Once the district became aware of the investigation, Sunkara was removed from the classroom and placed on paid suspension. According to NJ.com, Jersey City district spokeswoman Norma Fernandez stated that they would move to make the suspension unpaid upon indictment.
Fernandez further stated that Sunkara has had no contact with students since his removal from the classroom on February 4, 2020. He had been employed with the district sine 2012.
"It is incomprehensible that someone responsible for educating children would put them at risk and possibly harm them," Fernandez stated. "This situation is extremely upsetting."
The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is asking that anyone with information about Sunkara contact their Special Victims Unit at (201) 915-1234.