Teacher pleads guilty to rape charges, court records show

A Valley Stream man who taught at a private Woodmere school pleaded guilty Monday to raping a student following his arrest last year, court records show.

Daniel McMenamin, 33, who had been a teacher at Lawrence Woodmere Academy, pleaded guilty in Nassau County Court to a second-degree rape charge and a charge of second-degree criminal sexual act, which are both felonies.

State Supreme Court Justice Robert McDonald agreed to give McMenamin a sentence of 10 years of probation under terms of a deal negotiated between the defense and the Nassau district attorney's office, according to both sides.

McMenamin, who already has stopped teaching at the school, also agreed to surrender his New York State teaching license as part of the deal, said McMenamin's attorney, Edward Sapone.

"When cases are worked out, we consider more than just the offenses. This was a heavily negotiated agreement. A lot of thought went into it, and here the promise of no jail speaks volumes," the Manhattan defense attorney said in an interview.

Police alleged at the time of McMenamin's arrest in October that he'd had illegal sexual relations with a student for nearly three years, after starting to assault her in November 2014 when she was 14 years old.

The abuse continued until July 2017, according to police.

McMenamin also will now have to register as a sex offender, according to authorities.

A message left at the Woodmere school about McMenamin wasn't returned Monday.

Nassau district attorney's spokeswoman Miriam Sholder said in a statement Monday that McMenamin "targeted a young student and caused her unspeakable pain and suffering" while he was "in a position of power as a teacher."

The spokeswoman added: "The publicity generated by this case only furthered that suffering, and, in an effort to spare the survivor the trauma of having to testify at trial, a negotiated disposition was reached."

McMenamin's sentencing is set for May 30.