Joy Morsi, teacher from Massapequa accused of raping student, charged in sex abuse of another student, DA says

A Massapequa woman who was charged Tuesday with raping a teenager at the Queens high school where she taught was rearrested Wednesday and charged with sexually abusing another student over the weekend, the Queens district attorney's office said.

Joy Morsi, 39, a physical education teacher at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, was arraigned on two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child. Prosecutors accused her of twice engaging in a sexual act with a 16-year-old male student Saturday morning at the school.

Seventeen is the legal age of consent in the state.

Morsi was held on a $25,000 bail; her next court date in that case is June 23. Her attorney, Virginia LoPreto, did not return calls for comment.

These charges come after those filed Tuesday, which accuse Morsi of raping another student several times on school grounds, starting when he was 16. She was charged with 20 counts of third-degree rape, 20 counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

If convicted in both cases, she faces up to 8 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

An official said Morsi was rearrested Wednesday after she surrendered to authorities.

A statement issued by the New York City Board of Education read: "The Department immediately removed Joy Morsi from the classroom upon learning of the allegations. We find these claims disturbing and reprehensible and she will remain reassigned -- far from any student and the school -- pending a criminal investigation. We will work closely with the school to ensure they are given any needed support."

According to the first set of criminal charges, Morsi engaged in sexual relations with a male student in the basement and other locations inside the high school on "multiple occasions" between June 5 and July 24, 2013.

"This case is particularly disturbing because the defendant is a teacher and schools should be safe havens for children," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown had said in a release.