Queens math teacher had inappropriate relationship with Nassau teen she tutored, coached, prosecutors allege

A Long Island softball coach has been suspended from her job as a middle school math teacher in Queens after she was arrested on charges that she and a former underage athlete had what the alleged victim's mother called an "inappropriate" relationship, according to authorities.

Maggie Donnelly, 25, was arrested on Jan. 30 and charged with endangering the welfare of a minor after Nassau County prosecutors said she carried on a four-month relationship with a 17-year-old girl whom she once coached on a youth league team.

Donnelly pleaded not guilty at her arraignment and was released without bail. Her attorney, Thomas Lee, said that he was in discussions with prosecutors to resolve the case.

Donnelly, who taught math at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Bayside, was put on leave Feb. 4 "pending the outcome of the investigation," Brooklyn Diocese spokeswoman Adriana Rodriguez said. Donnelly has taught math at the school since the fall of 2021.

Rodriguez said that parents at the school were informed via an online portal that the teacher was placed on leave and not expected to return for the remainder of the school year.

"The parents were further informed that we have no reason to believe that this has anything to do with our students, academy or parish," Rodriguez said.

The alleged victim was tutored by Donnelly, the teen’s father told Newsday in an interview, but did not attend the school. Newsday is not identifying the girl or her parents because prosecutors say she is a victim.

Beginning in August 2024, according to prosecutors, the alleged victim’s mother became suspicious of the daughter’s activity.

On Aug. 22, she followed the girl out of the house in Massapequa, down the block and watched the coach pull up in her car.

"Before my daughter could enter the car, I yelled to her. Immediately, upon me yelling to my daughter, the car that was known to me as Maggie's car" sped away,  according to an affidavit from the mother included in the criminal complaint.

She called Donnelly and told her to stay away from her daughter, according to the affidavit.

"I included this to mean through phone calls, texts, Snapchats or in person," the woman told authorities. "I explained that I believed that the relationship between her and my daughter was inappropriate and that she had crossed many boundaries."

She said that she thought the issue was resolved, but in December, the teenager’s friends told the mother they were still in contact.

The teenager’s father told authorities that the girl’s phone records showed extended texting and phone conversations, some lasting as long as 8 hours, sometimes at 2 or 3 in the morning.

The teen told police that between Aug. 15 to Dec. 15 she "became very close to Maggie and looked at her as a sister." She said that they began corresponding daily and Donnelly would take her to the store and buy her alcohol, according to her affidavit.

Joseph Maniscalco, who runs the youth league organization, said  Donnelly left the league on July 20 and acknowledged that the alleged victim was a former player.

"It blows me away," he said of the allegations. "I’ve known her since she was 9 years old — just the sweetest kid. She’s entitled to her day in court."

Ann Grimshaw, who coached the youth team with Donnelly, said that she never saw her do anything inappropriate during their time coaching together.