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In March 2023, several news outlets announced that, according to a report by a New York school district, Bronx English teacher Mercedes Liriano was fired after she allegedly used her school email account to solicit indecent demands from several individuals.
According to the report by The Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District (SCI), between December 2016 and September 2017, the now 50-year-old English teacher sent at least 8 inappropriate emails through her school account. Some of the emails reportedly included lewd photos.
As per the New York Post, the allegations against Mercedes Liriano emerged in January 2021, while she was involved in several lawsuits pertaining to a seperate case. In September 2021, she resigned from her role. Her online profile indicates that she is currently teaching in Georgia.
Mercedes Liriano's emails were discovered during investigation for another case
Mercedes Liriano first drew the attention of media outlets in February 2019, when she got into a dispute with her school administration. She had accused the then-interim acting principal of her school, Patricia Catania, of preventing her from teaching black history during Black History Month.
Patricia Catania, on the other hand, claimed that Mercedes Liriano had begun a smear campaign to label her as a racist. Catania said that she was not opposed to black history and that she had simply told Liriano to prepare a more organized lesson plan.
Catania said:
“Ms. Liriano immediately went on a loud tirade throughout the hallway and main office of the school, screaming words to the effect that I could not tell her she could not teach Black History."
As the situation escalated, both made contradictory legal claims against each other. During the legal process, Patricia Catania's lawyers supposedly found evidence of the emails on Liriano's school account.
The school district accused Mercedes Liriano of misusing her school account in several instances. The exchanges reportedly began around the time that Patricia Catania was appointed as interim acting principal.
In one email, which is said to have included indecent photos. Liriano wrote:
“Hello my name is Mercedes aka Mercy. Here are some pictures of me. Hope to hear from you soon."
In another, Liriano wrote:
“Hey still wondering if you are still interested??”
Liriano's lawyer, Jeanne Mirer, denied the allegations against her. She implied that the accusations regarding the emails were used as leverage in the unrelated legal feud between the English teacher and the interim principal. She added that Liriano was also never given a chance to defend herself.
Meawww stated that as a result of the allegations, the SCI has recommended that the Department of Education place a 'problem code' on Liriano's file. If this were to be implemented, she would be prevented from teaching at any school in the future.
