Substitute Teacher Caught Masturbating In School Hallway, Police Say
A Connecticut substitute teacher has been arrested for allegedly masturbating in the hallway of a high school.
The incident occurred in Stamford yesterday at about 7:30 am in Westhill High School.
The suspect, identified in multiple media accounts as Michael Luecke, age 72, was allegedly caught in the act by a teaching assistant. “A school staff member who was walking in an area of lockers just after 7:33 a.m. saw a man on the ground and approached him because she thought he was hurt. Instead, she found a substitute teacher with his hand in his pants and ‘manipulating his penis,’ according to police. She yelled at him and notified school officials, who quickly notified Westhill High School Resource Officers.”
The principal called police and gave them surveillance video of the incident.
Responding police removed him from a classroom shortly thereafter and took him into custody. Authorities claim that the surveillance camera shows the man “suspiciously manipulating the front of his pants while looking at students in the courtyard.”
Luecke faces charges of public indecency, second-degree breach of peace, and risk of injury to a minor; bail was set at $25,000. He reportedly has no criminal record and passed a background check required for the substitute teaching job. “Because he was placed on suicide watch, his clothing was taken from him and his police photograph shows him dressed in a suicide smock.”
Evidently a small number of students were in the immediate vicinity when the suspect allegedly fondled himself. “According to police, six students passed the location while Luecke was masturbating. Police said they are in the process of identifying the students to determine if there’s a need for counseling.”
The principal indicated that the man no longer will be substitute teaching in the local district, a job he held for about three years.