The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is probing whether Jonathan Fuller — a married teacher at the exclusive, all-girls Nightingale-Bamford School — had an affair with a student while she was underage, sources told The Post yesterday.
And an independent investigator hired by the posh Upper East Side private academy began questioning older students yesterday, asking if they knew if Fuller, 55, had any involvement with other students, sources said.
A key question for both DA and Nightingale investigators is whether Fuller was involved with the student when she was under 17, the legal age of consent.
The Post yesterday revealed that Fuller, who taught science and psychology at Nightingale, was hauled out of class last Friday and suspended after a complaint was made that he had engaged in “inappropriate” behavior with a former student who graduated last spring and is now 18 or 19.
“No criminal allegations have surfaced as of yet,” a law-enforcement source said when asked if the NYPD is investigating.
But “it’s being monitored,” the source said.
The veteran teacher — who was on sabbatical this past semester in Colorado — was in hiding yesterday.
His wife, Ruth, who teaches students with special needs, told a reporter, “I’m not going to tell you” where he is.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m going to live my life and going about doing my business. I’m a person with a life,” his wife said outside the couple’s home in Huntington, LI.
A neighbor’s jaw literally dropped when shown The Post’s front-page story about Fuller.
“I can’t believe it. It’s shocking. He’s a great dad. He’s always out with the kids,” the neighbor said.
Students at Nightingale-Bamford — which inspired the hit TV show “Gossip Girl” — were teary-eyed yesterday after reading the allegations about the well-respected Fuller.
“We can’t talk about it,” one student said.
Parents, meanwhile, said they were concerned for their children.
“Obviously we’re concerned,” said Frank Casciari, who was picking up his second-grade daughter yesterday.
“It’s very disturbing. But I have faith the administration will get to the bottom of this.”
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram, Tara Palmeri and Lorena Mongelli