Montessori school director charged with having sex with underage students

Laura Italiano:

The female director of an East Side Montessori school was a little-boy-crazy "predator," Manhattan prosecutors charged yesterday, as they accused her of bedding two of the school's students - often on school property, and starting when they were only 12 and 13 years old.

The disgraced administrator, Lina Sinha, 40, who has worked for almost 20 years at the East 55th Street school founded and still owned by her parents, was also charged with trying to cover her tracks through lies and bribes of sneakers, cellphones and cash.

In all, Sinha faces 81 charges of rape, sodomy, bribing a witness and tampering with a witness and evidence.

"It is the people's position that this defendant is a predator," lead prosecutor Florence Chapin told a judge in Manhattan Supreme Court, after Sinha pleaded not guilty.

The most serious charges in the shocking indictment are for first-degree rape - for allegedly having sexual intercourse with the 12-year-old for a year, beginning in February 2001.

For that alone, Sinha faces up to 25 years in prison.

During that one busy year, 2001, Sinha also allegedly was enjoying her seventh year of a sexual relationship with a 19-year-old who was her first victim.

That victim was 13 when she started giving him oral sex, and 15 when they began having intercourse, including in a school van and an apartment that is part of the school building, prosecutors allege.

Sinha was arrested last October, when the older victim, who is now a 23-year-old NYPD officer, came forward with his accusations. Sinha had been free on her own recognizance since her arrest.

But yesterday, in light of the new allegations about the second, younger victim, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman ordered $50,000 bail, which was promptly posted by Sinha's sister, Naina Sinha, and a cousin, Priya Anthunadan.

Sinha's lawyer, Gerald Shargel, argued strenuously against bail being set even higher, at $100,000, as prosecutors requested.

"This indictment is based on a fabric of lies," Shargel said, deriding the DA's request for bail as a "publicity stunt."

"This is going to be a hotly contested case," Shargel said, adding he expects it to go to trial.

Asked about the two victims, Shargel declined to comment, except to imply he'll attack their credibility on the stand.

"I look forward to the cross-examination," he said.

Sinha has insisted to prosecutors that the police officer beat her on more than one occasion and then "concocted" the statutory-rape charges in retaliation after she filed an assault case against him with police Internal Affairs officers in The Bronx.

But prosecutors say Sinha made up the assault accusation after he tried to finally break up with her.

Sinha also fabricated allegations that the cop raped a young girl, prosecutors said.

Prosecutor: Manhattan Teacher Raped Her Students