By Associated Press
Niagara Falls, NY – A music teacher has been arrested on sex charges for allegedly having a three-year affair with a female student.
Phillip Sims, 49, was charged Friday with statutory rape, criminal sexual act with a person younger than 15 and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police said the victim was 14 years old when the relationship began at Gaskill Middle School. Sims, who taught music at the school for 16 years, was accused of having sexual contact with the girl from December 2001 to June 2003, said Assistant District Attorney Robert Zucco.
Sims has been suspended with pay from the Niagara Falls School District since school officials learned of the allegations last November. District officials spent four days investigating and interviewing students before turning over the information to police.
Sims pleaded innocent at his arraignment before City Judge Robert Restaino, who transferred the case to Niagara County Court after Sims waived his right to a preliminary hearing.