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Former Teacher Insists Ex-Fiancee Made Up Claims About Him Sleeping With Student
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 10, 2015
Modified Feb 10, 2015
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 10, 2015
Modified Feb 10, 2015
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Nearly three years after his arrest,
a former teacher at Riverdale Country School is on trial for allegedly raping a then-16-year-old student. However, a lawyer for Richard Hovan says he's the victim of a bitter ex-fiancee.
Hovan was apparently discovered with the student in the Chelsea apartment he shared with his then-fiancee Marina Bontkowski. Prosecutors said that one day "[the victim] was naked on top of him and her whirlwind romance came to a screeching halt . . .[when] Bontkowski walked in." Bontkowski, who initially told authorities that she saw the student topless, later testified in front of a grand jury, claiming that she couldn't remember. She later pleaded guilty to perjury, admitting that she did see the student topless with Hovan.
In 2012, a source told the Post, "I saw the girl climb out of the fire escape from his apartment and hide there. She waited until [the fiancée] was gone and then she came back in."
Vinoo Varghese, Hovan's lawyer, blames Bontkowski for everything, "[Hovan] sits there as an innocent man wrongly accused and a victim of an ex-girlfriend who went to great lengths to destroy him." He previously emphasized that Hovan, a MIT graduate, was a good guy because of the good nature he showed on The Price is Right.
Hovan is charged with multiple counts of rape and criminal sex act.
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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