A teacher in the Three Village Central School District pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he raped a woman at a Mount Sinai bar.

Cops say 30-year-old Michael Wachholder, of Rocky Point, raped and beat a bartender three weeks ago at Secrets Lounge.

Wachholder is a gym teacher at Arrowhead Elementary School. The school says it checked with the state before hiring him and was told he had a clean record. However, prosecutors say Wachholder has been arrested five times since he was 17 and was convicted for driving while ability impaired.

School officials released a statement, saying the following:

?We believe Mr. Wachholder's prior legal entanglements were not conveyed to the district because of their status as 'violations' and not as misdemeanors or felonies, meaning that in the eyes of the law, he had no criminal record."

Prosecutors called Wachholder a brutal rapist and said he has a history of criminal activity. Wachholder's attorney says police have the wrong man and that his client is willing to have a DNA test done to prove his innocence. School officials say Wachholder has been placed on indefinite leave.

Wachholder was charged with first-degree rape and his bail was set at $450,000. He is due back in court March 2.One of the alleged victim's co-workers at the bar says she spoke to her and that she is relieved police were able to make an arrest.

Police probe alleged sex assault at Mt. Sinai bar