Assistant principal at Queens high school accused of harassing 13 Asian girls
Hector L. Diaz — also the 'Respect for All' liaison at Queens High School for the Sciences at York College — commented that girls looked dressed for 'the club,' used racial stereotypes about Asian-Americans, grabbed a girl's arm, and rubbed another's back, according to incidents described for investigators.
One of the city Department of Education's elite specialized high schools, QHSS is located on a CUNY campus in Jamaica with 498 students — 81% of them Asian.
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'His lack of professionalism and inappropriate behavior has impacted my friends, peers and close-knit community of students,' Kiki Zou,17, a QHSS senior told Principal Ana De Jesus in an April 17 email.
A student government leader sent the principal a litany of 10 complaints by female classmates over the past school year, with girls saying Diaz made them feel not only uncomfortable, but 'threatened and scared.'
5 Hector Diaz served as the high school's 'Sexual Harassment Prevention' and 'Respect for All' liaisons.
Obtained by the New York Post
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Excerpts include:
'Mr. Diaz randomly stopped us and abruptly asked in the hallway if we were going to the club as a joke, seeing how we were dressed. . . . It was just loose comments like those that made it known to us that he crossed professional boundaries and went out of his way to comment on students' looks and mannerisms.'
'Mr. Diaz was recruiting students for color guard. My friend and I were interested in joining but had a conflict of schedule. As we were leaving school, we bumped into Mr. Diaz who said he would be more than happy to train us on the spot. The two of us were led into an empty lecture hall where he observed us through various drills. Throughout the uncomfortable training, he made various inappropriate comments like 'all the Asian Francis girls [referring to Francis Lewis HS] would die to be on drill team.'
'I said hello [to Diaz] as a formal gesture like I do with every teacher and staff member. But he stopped me and began to have a conversation which I didn't mind at all. However, he shifted his hand towards my back and rubbed my back. I didn't consent to any teacher, especially male teachers, touching me like that.'
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'Mr. Diaz told me if my parents found out that I'm in a relationship, they would deport me . . . I felt really bad how he was being so racist towards me by making that comparison.'
'Mr. Diaz signed me up for a trip without my parents' or my consent. And when he saw me in the hallways he asked me if I was going on the trip. And he tried to lay a hand on me. I remember I was extremely uncomfortable after that day, and every time I walk into the school I have to check to see if he's around. I no longer feel safe on school grounds.'
'I remember clearly Mr.Diaz said, 'Wow you look so pretty' in a really weird tone and started approaching me, trying to get into a close distance. I had to avoid him by leaving that area of the gym with my friend but he kept chasing after us. . . . He physically grabbed my friend by the arm and started questioning us even though we told him we don't feel comfortable.'
'A few weeks ago I went to the counselor for my schedule. When I was about to leave, he blocked the door frame of the office, leaned in very close and started asking me about my personal life, like my family members, where I live, and even where I go for extracurricular classes. I felt deeply threatened and scared, and extremely uncomfortable.'
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In other alleged incidents, Diaz texted a senior who had not given him her phone number, and told members of a club about their school funding, 'You're lucky I like you girls.'
5 Queens HS for the Sciences at York College, located on the CUNY campus, is one of NYC's specialized high schools.
RICHARD HARBUS
A student who told De Jesus about the incidents said the principal promised to discuss them with the superintendent, but the student never heard back.
The student forwarded classmates' complaints to the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools.
The SCI has opened nine cases against Diaz since 2023, including seven this year, but did not investigate any, a spokesman said.
Instead, SCI referred the complaints to the DOE's own Office of Special Investigations, and one to the DOE's Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management.
5 Assistant principal Hector Diaz accompanied students from QHHS on a trip to Spain last year.
Obtained by the New York Post
Diaz, 54, holds state certification as a pre-K to Grade 6 elementary teacher, and as a school building leader.
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In 2009, Diaz was named a dean and several years later an interim assistant principal in The Bronx at the Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation, which the DOE shut down after an 18-year-old student fatally stabbed Matthew McCree, 15, during a class in 2017.
Diaz then joined a DOE group of assistant principals without permanent jobs, records show.
5 The DOE removed Hector Diaz from QHHS this month in response to complaints by 13 students of harassing comments and behavior.
Obtained by the New York Post
Diaz 'is no longer part of our community,' QHSS principal De Jesus told families in a June 17 email. 'While I am not at liberty to share information with you, know that I take any issue of concern, small or large, including allegations, very seriously and as an agent of the Department of Education I am required to take specific actions.'
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DOE officials refused to say whether Diaz is still working with students at another school.
5 Hector Diaz, at rear behind a QHHS student holding an award; Principal Ana De Jesus, second from right; with other assistant principals and guidance counselors.
Obtained by the New York Post
'This alleged behavior is absolutely unacceptable,' a DOE spokesperson said. 'Any and all forms of harassment have no place in our schools. Thorough investigations are ongoing and appropriate action will be taken upon completion.'
Reached by phone, Diaz declined to comment and hung up.
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