NEW YORK
Albany Times Union
By Robert Gavin
Albany
A former student at La Salle Institute said Monday he was sexually abused at the Catholic school in Troy more than two decades ago by a teacher who used him as his “personal prostitute” during time designated for private tutoring.
Michael Cioppa, 39, of Latham, said the teacher molested him in the man’s apartment but also treated him to favors like a plum parking spot, and the man even took a Regents exam for him.
During a news conference a teary-eyed Cioppa revealed alleged details of an ordeal he said has left him so emotionally devastated, the married man does not want to bring children into the world.
“Not after what I’ve seen,” Cioppa said.
Now a businessman working as a care provider, he said he was abused starting at age 16. When he finally came forward, he said, he was told to keep quiet.
“I just kept my mouth shut,” Cioppa said. “The internal frustration was unbearable and the confusion I suffered is still crippling my existence. I graduated and disappeared.”
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