A Queens principal dubbed “Creepy Bill’’ could dodge sex-abuse charges — and potentially spend the rest of his days living on a cushy taxpayer-funded pension — if he just retires, according to his accusers.
Longtime Academy of American Studies Principal William Bassell, 67, who earned his derogatory moniker from weirded-out students, was set to begin his criminal trial last week.
He has been accused criminally of sex abuse and forcible touching involving two female teachers — and of groping a teen student and also targeting female underlings for more than a decade, according to a pair of civil suits.
One suit accuses him of grabbing a teacher’s breast and bombarding her with more than 30,000 texts, some of which included graphic sexual content.
“You know what you can do with that tongue don’t you….,” the high-school principal allegedly wrote the educator — adding a tongue emoji.
He also once reached under a 16-year-old student’s skirt and groped her, according to a lawsuit.
But prosecutors announced at the start of his trial that they have offered Bassell a special deal where his criminal charges will be tossed if he resigns from the Department of Education and completes sex-offender treatment.
Bassell would still face the civil federal lawsuits that claim he turned his public school into “his personal playground for sexual fulfillment.”
“I believe that Bassell’s removal is a long overdue first step, but Bassell and the DOE have not truly been held accountable yet,” said Amy Robinson, who reps five of his alleged victims.
Robinson said she and her clients also have “unanswered questions regarding whether Bassell will receive a generous pension upon resignation.”
He earned a whopping $204,305 last year, which would help provide the basis for any annual pension.
The city Department to Education, which said it has since removed Bassell from his post, indicated that the defendant’s union ultimately decides pension issues.
The union did not respond to a Post request for comment.
Khiabet Leal, who claims in a lawsuit that “Creepy Bill” groped her as a student outside of the Met Opera, said, “It is profoundly troubling and infuriating that Bassell, who groped me beneath my skirt when I was just 16 years old, may receive in excess of $1 million in pension payments over the next 10 years.”
Another alleged victim, social worker and lawsuit plaintiff Tara Murphy, said she hopes to see a “more meaningful consequence than a taxpayer-funded pension.”
Leslie Kohn, an alleged victim in Bassell’s criminal case and a plaintiff in the civil suit helmed by Robinson, said, “The most important outcome for women and girls is that Bassell will no longer be in a position of power within the DOE.”
Bassell served as principal at the school since 2011.
“This alleged behavior is reprehensible and wholly unacceptable,” said Chyann Tull, a rep for the DOE, to The Post.
“This individual was immediately removed from students upon learning of these allegations.”
Bassell is due back in court June 15 for an update on the case. It is unclear if he is expected at the time to either accept or reject the prosecution’s offer — a situation first reported by the New York Daily News.
It also is not clear whether a judge has to sign off on the move, which is not a plea deal.
Bassell’s lawyer declined comment to The Post.
https://nypost.com/2026/05/04/us-news/nyc-principal-dubbed-creepy-bill-could-dodge-sex-abuse-raps/
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