The former Bronx private school teacher who was allegedly found with a topless 16-year-old student—by his fiancee—was convicted of numerous charges, including statutory rape. Manhattan DA Cy Vance said, "Richard Hovan utterly betrayed that trust by abusing his position of power and engaging in a sexual relationship with a student. The defendant emotionally manipulated this teenage girl to engage in sexual conduct, and attempted to manipulate evidence and the testimony of a witness in an effort to disguise his actions."
Hovan was arrested in 2012 after being discovered with his Riverdale Country School student in his Chelsea apartment by his then-fiancee. The student had apparently escaped via the fire escape during previous encounters.
For a period, the then-fiancee (and the student) lied that nothing had happened, but later testified that Hovan was with the girl. Hovan, for his par, continued to deny that he had a sexual relationship with the student, claiming that he was just trying to deal with an emotionally unstable student by doing crossword puzzles with him in the apartment. He also told the prosecution that the open bottle of lube was possibly opened by his cats, but not him.
Vance said, "Each day we send our children to school, trusting that they are safe from harm in the care of their teachers... With the jury’s guilty verdict, he is being held responsible for his crimes. I would like to thank the jury for its service, and my Office’s Sex Crimes prosecutors for ensuring that justice was done. I urge anyone who believes that a child may be at risk to call our Child Abuse Hotline at (212) 335-4308."
Hovan was also convicted of criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child.
