Suffolk County driver's education instructor accused of making sexually explicit comments to his students during lessons
The driver worked for Elite Driving of Long Island.
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A Suffolk County driver's education instructor was arrested for allegedly making a series of sexually explicit comments toward his male students during driving lessons in Hauppauge this month.
The investigation started after a family member of one of the victims made a complaint against an instructor at Elite Driving of Long Island.
The program offers courses in both Nassau and Suffolk counties and is affiliated with Ivy League School Driver Education in Smithtown, according to Suffolk County police.
Investigators said instructor Joseph Klein, 66, made the inappropriate statements to the minors between July 6 and July 22.
Elite Driving School owner Asif Khan told News 12 that Klein had been recently hired, but had his employment terminated last week when the company became aware of the complaint. Klein wasn't arrested until yesterday.
Khan said Klein had met all applicable state licensing requirements for driving instructors.
"The safety and well-being of our students has always been the highest priority at Elite Driving School," Khan said in a statement to News 12. "We remain committed to providing a safe, professional, and respectful learning environment for every student."
The president of Ivy League School released the following statement:
"We were recently made aware of reports concerning Joe Klein, a driving instructor employed by Elite Driving School. Under New York State law, Ivy League School contracts with state-certified third-party driving schools to provide the required behind-the-wheel instruction for our Driver Education Program. In this case, Elite Driving School was the contracted provider, and Mr. Klein was an employee of Elite Driving School, not Ivy League School.
As soon as we became aware of these concerns, we immediately prohibited Mr. Klein from providing any further services to Ivy League students. We also contacted the affected families, made a report to Child Protective Services, and filed a complaint with law enforcement. The safety and well-being of our students is our highest priority, and we have fully cooperated with the investigation."
Suffolk County police charged Klein with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child and issued an appearance ticket for court at a later date.
Investigators are asking anyone with additional information or who believes they may have been a victim to call Fourth Precinct Investigative Unit officers at 631-854-8426.
