Forest Hills Teacher Gets 6 Months For Statutory Rape

A former public school teacher from Forest Hills who recently pleaded guilty to statutory rape charges has been sentenced to six months in jail, a spokeswoman for the Queens district attorney said.

Daniel Reilly, 36, who taught sixth grade English at Flushing’s I.S. 237, was also sentenced to 10 years probation and ordered to register as a sex offender.

The defendant pleaded guilty in May to having sex with a 14-year-old student at his Forest Hills home, Queens DA Richard Brown said.

Last month, Reilly had been weighing the option of dropping his plea. His attorney, Eric Franz, said the defendant was taking steps to ensure that he could raise his infant child.

The case came about when the victim’s sister saw sexually explicit text messages on her phone, the DA said. The victim’s family went to the school and met with personnel, who notified the city’s special commissioner of investigation.