Teacher's aide accused of having sex with teen student in car outside Upstate New York school
Between 2024 and 2025, the aide, who is identified only by her first name in the filings, 'engaged in sexually charged physical interactions' with the unidentified boy, beginning with 'sexually explicit communications and… sexually explicit media,' and progressing to 'sexually charged physical interactions… in various places within the subject school,' according to a complaint filed June 30 by the boy's mother.
This included, the complaint alleges, 'kissing in and around' Cohoes High School until the winter of 2025, when the aide 'engaged in oral sex with [the student], multiple times in [her] car within the subject school.'
'Then, in February of 2025, [the aide] engaged in sexual intercourse with [the student] in [her] car within the… school,' the complaint states.
The filing sheds new light on a situation that roiled the city of Cohoes, which is located about 150 miles north of New York City.
On March 20, Cohoes City School District Superintendent Peggy O'Shea sent a letter to parents regarding allegations of 'inappropriate conduct' by the aide.
'Upon becoming aware of these allegations, administration immediately contacted the Cohoes Police Department,' O'Shea wrote. 'Since that time the District has been fully cooperating with law enforcement.'
Due to the ongoing investigation, O'Shea said she was unable to share further details at the time.
The full name of the aide, 19-year-old Alexsandra Morales, was identified by News10. She is now facing a pair of criminal misdemeanor charges: sexual misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to the complaint, the situation was discovered on March 18 by the teen's mom. Morales was arrested on March 20, News10 reported. The student involved was 15 at the time of the alleged abuse and was too young to legally consent, according to police.
Cohoes Police Chief Todd Waldin told News10 that his department pursued felony charges against Morales, but that they were precluded from doing so by the state penal code because the age difference between Morales and the student was less than four years.
The lawsuit, which was brought under the New York Child Victims Act, accuses the school district of negligent hiring, training, and supervision, as well as failing to remove the employee from the school despite notice of reported misconduct. It further claims that the administration 'knew or should have known about the subject pattern of abuse and should have prevented or stopped it,' and that it 'allowed for these violent and deviant incidents to occur on a regular and repeating basis, despite having notice of their occurrence.'
'Each instance of [Morales'] sexual misconduct and inappropriate physical contact with [the teen] constitutes battery,' the student's mother's complaint says.
As a result, the complaint contends the student 'suffered… severe injuries and damages… including but not limited to, mental and emotional distress.'
The lawsuit seeks damages to be determined in court.
Morales is due back in Cohoes City Court on July 23.
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