Bad Love

Johnny Cuevas, 37, was a Spanish teacher at Randolph High School in Harlem. In 2005, he went on vacation to the Dominican Republic over spring break, and another teacher at his school saw him there, staying at the same hotel. But Cuevas was apparently vacationing with a special girlfriend--his student, Alenny Mercado, who was 18 at the time.

The teacher who says he saw the teacher and student together says he told their principal about it twice, but the principal brushed him off. When investigators started looking into the allegation, the principal brought Cuevas in for a meeting to get their stories straight over the MLK Day weekend earlier this year, paying him two days' salary for his time.

Cuevas and Alenny Mercado both deny that there was any relationship going on, though Mercado does say she was in the DR over Spring Break 2005 visiting relatives. She's now going to Fordham, and has refused to speak to investigators: "I spoke to someone, asking me questions, but I didn't know what it was about," she said. "The investigator wanted to meet with me, but I said no. He wouldn't tell me what it was about, and I was busy."

She also suggests that the accusing teacher, who is apparently black, was upset about "Latin culture" growing at the school, so attacked a Latino Spanish teacher as some sort of psycho-racial-sexual retaliation.

Cuevas is no longer teaching anyone irregular conjugation, but is doing administrative work during the investigation.