A fifth woman is suing the city Department of Education for turning a blind eye to years of alleged sexual abuse and harassment by Queens high school principal William Bassell.
The accuser, named as Jane Doe in a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, says Bassell sent her more than 30,000 text messages after she started working at his school, the Academy of American Studies in Astoria, inappropriately touched her for years, and retaliated when she tried to transfer to another school earlier this year.
The years-long ordeal only ended when she and another victim reported Bassell, 66, to the Queens District Attorney’s Office in May, resulting in his arrest on sex abuse charges. The charges remain pending, and his lawyer did not return messages seeking comment.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit comes just days after the filing of a blockbuster lawsuit describing Bassell as a serial predator who earned the nickname “Creepy Bill” through years of unwanted touching, groping and lewd comments.
His accusers include an assistant principal at the school, another teacher and a former student, all of whom say Bassell touched, stroked or caressed them without their consent, plus a guidance counselor who said Bassell retaliated against her for reporting his abuse of the student.
“Because I was on the inside of the DOE, I can tell you that, you know, it functions really just like a black box, and people inside the DOE are so afraid of reporting anything,” said Jane Doe’s lawyer, Annie Seifullah, a former Queens principal who won a settlement from the city after, she alleged, the Education Department tried to fire her for X-rated pictures her vengeful ex likely planted on her work computer.
“Bassell is a really, really powerful person inside the DOE. He’s on the executive board of the principals union. His name and photo are still on their web site,” Seifullah said. “Ten years of internal complaints being squashed and being ignored, or not being given attention, and the minute two of those victims were brave and went straight to the to the sex crimes unit, Bassell was arrested the next day….. I think that tells a story on its own.”
Jane Doe alleges she met Bassell in 2019, and he recruited her to teach at the school, putting himself forward as a mentor to young women in the educational field. “This sentiment began to change over time as Bassell transformed from a supportive mentor to a controlling, manipulative and predatory presence,” the suit alleges.
He “would ping pong between adoring messages and icy verbal putdowns in front of her co-workers,” and sent her more than 30,000 texts, enough to fill more than 6,700 printed pages, the suit alleges.
Several of those texts crossed the line, such as ones reading, “You belong to me and I am possessive,” “You can give me a hug in the office. Not on camera” and “You know what you can do with that tongue [tongue emoji] don’t you…,” the suit alleges.
Bassell would often repeatedly touch the plaintiff, including an incident during the school’s 2024 prom where he pretended to “fix” her dress and touched her breast, then changed his breathing and said, “imagine if [a co-worker] saw us together like this right now,” the suit alleges.
Jane Doe said she complained to a union representative in May, who responded, “what has our Billy Boy done now?” and blew off her calls seeking updates, she alleges. When she spoke to a second union representative, she got the response, “well, what took you so long to report it?” and a suggestion to go through a grievance process that would require a sit-down with Bassell, she alleges.
A United Federation of Teachers spokeswoman declined comment Thursday.
Finally, on May 26, she filed a criminal complaint, and Bassell was arrested the next day. Her troubles weren’t over, though — Education Department officials assigned her to announce Bassell’s removal from the school to a room full of staff, and to ease the concerns of staff members troubled by his removal, she alleged.
“Jane Doe was expected to do this, all while pretending that she had not survived years of harassment, hostility, and sexual abuse by Bassell,” the lawsuit states.
The city Law Department and Department of Education declined comment on the lawsuit.
